


Rejection

by Makkuro94



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AU Fic, Aomine being a narcissistic jerk, Eventual Romance, M/M, Slow Build, Stubborn Kagami
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2018-02-27 11:59:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 51,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2692160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Makkuro94/pseuds/Makkuro94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aomine was not used to being rejected. In fact, it had never happened to him before. There is always a first for everything though, right?  Kagami Taiga, new transfer student from L.A, is there to make sure of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alrighty! So I wasn't sure whether I should post anything here or not, but after reading so many awesome fanfics here I felt that I had to contribute with at least something. 
> 
> Hope you like it!

Aomine Daiki grinned widely to himself as he confidently approached the newest object of his desires. His eyes, a beautiful midnight blue, never left his target.

The news about a transfer student from L.A had spread quickly that morning and Aomine had been among the first to hear it. He hadn't cared much at first, but once he caught sight of that nice piece of ass his opinion on the subject had changed instantly.

Kagami Taiga was his name. Tall, well-built, a pair of crimson eyes that perfectly matched the color of his spiky hair. The skin of that gorgeous body was covered by a light, healthy-looking tan.

Apparently the guy was born in Japan and left for the states at the age of 10. Now he was back to finish his high school education here in Tokyo. Fortunately he'd been put in Daiki's class too.

Kagami and two of his new friends were currently having lunch in the school backyard. They sat on a spot of grass underneath a tree, giving them a comfortable shade in the rather hot month of May. Kise, one of said friends, said something that made Kagami laugh and Aomine instantly decided that he liked it. The guy wasn't just attractive, he had a nice voice as well. Absolutely perfect. Kagami was definitely his type. Aomine couldn't help but chuckle quietly to himself. It wouldn't be long until he had that sexy redhead on his bed, pinned down and moaning deliciously under him.

As he got closer, Kise and Kuroko instantly took notice of him. Having been in the same class as Aomine throughout middle school and now in the same high school for little over a year, the two had learned to sense the bluenette's presence even from a long enough distance. The two raised their heads to greet him but Kagami remained oblivious and took a bite of his ridiculously large sandwich.

“Kagami Taiga, right?”

Kagami paused and looked up to meet the sly-looking gaze directed at him. Aomine liked those fiery red eyes. Even more so now that they were on him. The redhead chewed slowly as he did a quick once-over of the other teen. He could tell what kind of person the bluenette was just by looking at him and it surely wasn't the type Kagami liked to associate with. His “jerk-senses” were tingling. He swallowed his food and looked away from the cocky-looking bluenette before answering with a small shrug.

“Yeah?”

Aomine was a bit taken aback by the casual attitude and honestly felt a tad offended, but he decided to let it slide seeing as Kagami was new. The redhead had yet to learn how things worked around here so the bluenette couldn't really blame him for not knowing about his awesome self. Aomine let a charming smirk dominate his lips, the one girls and boys alike usually went nuts for.

“I'm Aomine Daiki. You're new, right? I wanted to greet you personally.”

“Thanks...” There was no enthusiasm whatsoever in Kagami's voice. If anything, he sounded annoyed.

“Come with me. I'll show you around and stuff.”

“Actually you're kind of interrupting. I was talking to Kise and Kuroko about something.”

' _Playing hard to get, huh?_ _'_ Aomine thought to himself with a slight grin. Well, he liked that.

“Come on, it'll be fun. I'll even let you hang out with me.”

 _'He'll l **et** me hang out with him? Am I supposed to be grateful?'_ The redhead thought angrily to himself. He had always had a bad temper and was surprised at himself for not snapping back at the other.

Kise and Kuroko exchanged nervous looks. They were both aware of what their classmate was trying to do and were worried about Kagami. They knew that their friend was only a conquest in Aomine's eyes and would end up with his heart broken. No one had yet to resist Aomine; especially when he wore _that_ smile.

What Kagami said next surprised them though.

“I don't think so. I've already seen the school; Kise and Kuroko showed me around this morning. And since you don't seem to get the hint, I'll help you out.”

“Huh?”

“I'm. Not. Interested.”

A choked sound emitted from Kise's throat. Had he not managed to hold it in, it would have come out as a loud, hysterical bark of laughter. He quickly covered his mouth with one of his hands and looked away to distract himself. Kuroko hid his amusement much better than the blonde, but a small smile was stubbornly tugging at the corner of his lips.

“W-what?” Aomine asked dumbly after a tense moment of silence, his eyes now wide in absolute shock and disbelief. Had he really heard Kagami right? No, it couldn't be.

Kagami rolled his eyes in annoyance and closed his lips around the straw of his carton of orange juice. After taking a small sip he looked back up at the dumbfounded teen and repeated himself.

“I said I'm not interested in you so quit bothering me.”

Aomine was at a complete loss. No one had ever spoken to him like that and no one had ever _rejected_ him. _He_ was usually the one doing the rejecting part.

“Tsk, you're still here? Go away.” Aomine lost it when Kagami waved his hand towards him in a shooing manner along with those offending, nonchalant words. He bent down, grabbed the collar of the redhead's shirt and yanked him up so their faces were mere inches away from each other.

“Listen here, you little shit-”

“Aomine! I've warned you about picking fights with other students! Don't make me call your mother... _again_!”

With narrowed eyes the bluenette slowly looked over his shoulder to meet his stuck-up history teacher. The middle aged man always managed to get in his way. Plus, he was one of the few teachers in the entire school that were immune to his social status, bribes and charms. His father being one of the wealthiest men in Japan didn't seem to affect the man at all.

“I wasn't picking a fight with him, Midorima-sensei. Just saying hi since he's new and all.”

The man didn't look convinced but decided to let it go. He sighed and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Fine, but I am only warning you once.”

As the teacher left, Kagami slapped Aomine's hand away and glared into his dark eyes.

“Whatever,” the bluenette said, obviously bitter, and began to walk back towards the school building without looking back at the group. Kagami sat back down and took another bite of his lunch. He hated to be interrupted during meals.

“That was awesome, Kagamicchi!” Kise exclaimed enthusiastically.

“What's his problem anyway?”

“Well, you see,” Kuroko began, “Aomine-kun has never been rejected by anyone before.”

At that Kagami couldn't help but laugh.

“Seriously? Am I really the first one who's ever said no to him?”

His friends nodded.

“He'll get over it.”

“I wouldn't be so sure about that.”

Kagami raised a questioning eyebrow at Kuroko.

“Huh?”

“Kurokocchi is right. Aominecchi has taken an interest in you and won't stop until he has you. He hates being ignored, especially by someone he wants.”

“Well that's too bad. I'm planning on ignoring him for the rest of the year. Anyway, let's not talk about him anymore.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying their food, but soon they were once more engaged in conversation when Kise decided to speak up.

“So are you joining any clubs, Kagamicchi?”

“Yeah, the basketball club. I'm gonna sign the application form today and then I can start next week.”

His friends went silent yet again. They looked at each other hesitantly and then back at Kagami. The redhead noticed and sighed.

“What now?”

“I know you don't want to talk about him but... Aominecchi's is in the basketball club too. He's the star player.”

“Ignoring him for the rest of the year might be difficult, Kagami-kun.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I decided to try make this fic a multi chap. (After almost a year lol) I haven't really planned ahead, the plot will develop as I write. 
> 
> Kinda short chapter but the next will be longer and I'll post it as soon as I can. I've started on it so it shouldn't take too long.... : 3

  
_'You'll give in to me eventually.'_

Kagami grit his teeth as those cocky words that had been spoken to him that morning repeated themselves in his head.

With a scowl he dribbled his way up to the hoop, jumped and sent the ball through the net with a heavy dunk. Basketball had always been a good way for him to get rid of his frustrations and right now he was _definitely_ frustrated.

Aomine was pissing him off.

Kuroko had been absolutely right. Ignoring the bluenette was proving to be _extremely_ difficult. It wasn't just because they were both in the basketball club and in the same class, but Aomine seemed to have made it his mission to bother Kagami every chance he got. It didn't matter how hard he tried; the guy just refused to leave him alone. Kagami was nearing his limit. His temper wouldn't be able to take much more.

On a more positive note though, Kagami got along well with the rest of the basketball club members. His upperclassmen Himuro and Takao especially. It had been two weeks since he joined and he'd settled in really well. The coach had been impressed by his skills and said that with a bit more training he'd definitely become a regular in time for the Winter Cup. For the Inter High he'd be on the bench as a replacement though.

He liked the school too and he had made some great friends. Had it not been for a certain asshole with dark blue hair he wouldn't have had any complaints at all.

When Kagami landed back on his feet he peered over his shoulder to sneak a glance at Aomine. The blue haired teen was sitting on one of the benches, eyes bored and arms crossed over his chest. Kagami couldn't help but to find it strange. Aomine was the team's ace, wasn't he? So why didn't he do anything? For the past two weeks that Kagami had been part of the club he hadn't seen the other teen move from that bench even once during practices.

He had thought for sure that Aomine would be more than willing to show off his basketball skills.

“Hey, Takao?” He asked his upperclassman who was dribbling a ball next to him.

The black haired teen looked up at him questioningly.

“Hm?”

“Is it normal for Aomine to never do anything during practice?”

“Yeah. He usually doesn't attend at all.”

“Hah? Why not?”

“Because he doesn't have to. Since he's already so good the coach allowed him to choose for himself.”

“I know he's the ace and all...but is he really _that_ good?”

Takao sniggered and patted the confused Kagami on the back reassuringly.

“Well, I can't blame you for doubting it since you've never seen him play before, but _yes,_ he is that good. I can't imagine him losing to anyone.”

With a thoughtful hum Kagami once again directed his eyes at the bluenette. Now he was curious and he hated himself for it. He didn't _want_ to be curious about that asshole. But when it came to basketball and the possibility of a skilled opponent he couldn't help himself. He really wanted to see him play. What would it feel like to play one-on-one with the guy? If he challenged Aomine and beat him then perhaps he'd be left alone. He felt a spark of excitement in his chest.

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he shook it off. Kagami had sworn to ignore Aomine after all. The bastard _wanted_ his attention and Kagami certainly would not willingly give it to him. Challenging him to a one-on-one would mean that he acknowledged him and that would be the same as losing.

“What about matches?”

“As long as he plays in games he's free to come and go as he pleases.”

“Does that include practice games?”

“No. He doesn't have to attend those either.”

Kagami snorted.

“How can the coach even agree to that?”

“Coach was against it at first but in the end Aomine got his will through somehow.” Takao let out a small chuckle before adding, “Wakamatsu was so pissed at first.”

That was just ridiculous. How could someone like that be allowed on the team? Everyone needed practice no matter how good they were. There is always someone better. Aomine was probably just being lazy, Kagami decided for himself.

He prepared himself for performing another dunk when he heard Aomine's taunting voice from the bench.

“Oi, Kagami, don't just stand there! Your ass isn't very exciting to look at if it's not moving!”

_'Ignore, ignore, **ignore**!' _

A small smirk slowly spread on Takao's lips.

“Hey, I think I know why he's been coming to practice lately.”

Kagami growled darkly under his breath.

 “Shut up.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps not a very exciting chapter, but it is necessary. I might edit this at a later time. Also, I made Takao one year older so he and Himuro are third years while Kagami and Aomine are second years.
> 
> *sweats* what have I gotten myself into? xD


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who are wondering, this is going to be both AoKaga and KagaAo. Though there will probably be a bit more AoKaga. 
> 
> Aomine's Pov. Some smut (not with Kagami) and Aomine being a complete douche.

It was ridiculous. Three weeks and no progress whatsoever. The redhead _should've_ been willing to get in bed with him by now. Aomine had never had to struggle this much with anyone before. Sure he'd dealt with a few stubborn people who had tried to resist him in the past, but they always ended up a moaning mess under him a few days later.

“ _You'll give in to me eventually,”_ he'd told Kagami with much confidence but now he wasn't so sure anymore.

At first Aomine had thought that Kagami was just playing hard to get. There was no way he wasn't interested because, come on, who _didn't_ want Aomine Daiki? Look at him! Kagami must have _at least_ thought he was attractive.

However, as he kept being ignored and rejected by the other, the bluenette slowly began to realize that Kagami seriously didn't want him.

It had been a painful truth to accept and it kept him awake at night.

No matter how frustrated and downright _pissed_ he was at the other teen though, Kagami's defiant attitude only made him all the more desirable. When you can't have what you want it's only natural to want it even more, right?

So Aomine had decided to continue his pursuit. There was no way he was giving up now. If he was to be honest with himself, the challenge quite excited him. It made his victory something to really look forward to.

What he had to do now was to find a new way to approach Kagami. His good looks and charm alone wouldn't get him anywhere and pestering the redhead until he said yes hadn't worked very well so far.

He sighed in annoyance as he took off his shirt. Why did he have to _think_ in order to get laid?

Basketball practice was over for the day and he was currently in the changing room along with a few other club members. Kagami had already left together with Himuro, which was a shame because Aomine had really hoped to see the fiery redhead naked. That was the reason he even bothered to show up at practice these days anyway. He had only seen Kagami shirtless so far and while he enjoyed the view, it wasn't nearly enough. He wanted to see it _all._ Fuck, Kagami had an amazing body.

Aomine hadn't slept with anyone for these past two weeks either. He'd been so focused on Kagami that he had neglected himself and it was only making his already foul mood worse. He had to take care of it. Right now the one he wanted to fuck the most was the fiery redhead, but since that obviously wasn't an option at the moment he'd have to settle for someone else.

Like Sakurai for example. Aomine was aware of the crush the brunette had on him and constantly used that to his advantage. They fucked every now and then and Sakurai would do anything he asked without question. It was very convenient.

“Ryou,” was all Aomine said before making his way towards the shower room. He didn't have to elaborate because the brunette understood immediately. Quickly taking the rest of his clothes off, Sakurai grabbed his towel before obediently following the other.

The remaining club members knew very well what was about to take place and none of them wanted to stay for it. They quickly gathered their stuff and left.

When Aomine heard the exit door slam shut, the sign that he and Sakurai were alone, he turned on the shower and stepped under the warm spray of water.

“You know what to do,” he said as he ran a hand through his now wet hair. He didn't even look at the other boy.

“Y-yes.”

Sakurai placed himself against the wall with his back facing Aomine. He flattened his palms out on the cold tiles just above his head and shyly pushed his hips out as an invitation.

Normally someone like Sakurai wasn't really Aomine's type. When it came to men he preferred body types similar to his own. However, he didn't have the energy or patience to go look for a bigger guy at the moment. The stammering boy was his personal emergency fuck and Aomine's current situation could definitely be classified as an emergency. He was horny and had a lot of pent up frustration that he needed to get out of his system.

Aomine didn't give any warning or preparation before he snapped his hips forward and almost fully sheathed himself inside the smaller boy. Not that it mattered. Sakurai would agree to anything he did. Besides, Aomine knew from previous experience that the boy was a bit of a masochist.

Sakurai couldn't stop himself from letting out a startled cry at the sudden and quite painful intrusion. He was used to this kind of treatment by the other though; Aomine wasn't exactly known for being gentle.

“Ohh? Have you gotten a bit wider since last time?” Aomine drawled tauntingly into Sakurai's ear as he adjusted himself.

“A-Aomine-san...”

“Still pretty tight though.”

When Aomine was satisfied with his position he began moving in and out of Sakurai. He thrust his hips forward harshly without caring about the other, only thinking about his own pleasure.

He had to admit that Sakurai felt good. And those slutty sounds he was making turned him on quite a bit. Oh... but what would _Kagami_ sound like? Well, he certainly _looked_ like a screamer. Would he be even louder than Sakurai? Would he also be this tight? Someone that fiery had to be an animal in bed.

The thought of the redhead naked and panting under him made him shiver pleasantly and a deep purr of anticipation rumbled in his throat. He slowly opened his pleasure-filled eyes and suddenly it was no longer Sakurai who he was pounding into the wall. Instead he saw a pair of half-lidded red eyes peering back at him from behind a broad shoulder. Soft-looking lips that were usually so intent on snarling at him parted slightly in order to release an ecstatic moan.

“ _Aomine...”_

Aomine grit his teeth. Just hearing that gruff, husky voice moan his name so deliciously was almost enough to make him come right then and there. With a groan he snaked his hand down “Kagami's” thigh and grabbed his erection. The strong body in front of him bucked at the contact and soon more frantic moans spewed out from those luscious lips. He began to stroke "Kagami's" dick in a pace that matched his thrusts.

“Ahh fuck...Kagami,” he groaned heatedly and tightened the grip of his hand that held one of Sakurai's sides. Hard enough to leave bruises.

Sakurai froze, his mouth snapping shut and eyes widening at the name that was uttered by his crush. Before he could protest, his prostate was hit with a hard thrust at just the right angle and it was all it took for him to come. He threw his head back, back arching, and cried out his pleasure.

Aomine was at his limit as well. Normally he would have lasted longer, but the images of Kagami coming along with the tightness clamping around him was making him lose control of himself. His voice was muffled as he buried his face into Sakurai's neck when he came.

The two boys panted in unison for a moment, recovering from their pleasure high.

A few seconds later Aomine pulled out from the smaller boy and fully placed himself under the shower. Once he was clean he dried himself with his towel and went to get dressed. Sakurai followed him shortly after.

“E-excuse me, Aomine-san,” Sakurai began while they put on their uniforms.

“What?”

“D-did you say Kagami-san's name before when we...you know.”

Aomine shrugged.

“Yeah. So what?”

“But you were with _me_. T-that's just-”

“Shut up, Ryou. You should be grateful that I even fuck you in the first place.”

“I-I'm sorry!”

“You better be.”

Nothing more was said. Aomine finished buttoning his uniform shirt, threw on his blazer and grabbed his bag. He was about to leave when a thought hit him. He turned to the other with a small grin.

“If you're really sorry, Ryou, you can make it up to me by doing my homework for the rest of the week.”

Sakurai looked up with a startled expression. While he was thankful that Aomine was still talking to him, the request was a bit too much. He had his own homework to do; he would barely get any sleep if he had to do twice as much.

“But -”

The boy cut himself off when his crush sat down next to him on the bench, grabbed his chin and tilted it up. He could feel Aomine's breath against his lips and his entire face instantly heated up. Those blue, beautiful eyes were staring into his and he couldn't look away. His heart was hammering so hard against his ribcage that he wouldn't be surprised if the other heard it.

“You'll do it for me, right?” Aomine asked softly and gave his lips a light peck.

“Ah y-yes...”

It was too easy.

Aomine pushed him down onto his back and kissed him hard. All Sakurai could do was moan and desperately grabbed the front of the other teen's shirt. He wanted to pull the other closer but before he had the chance to do so, Aomine broke the kiss with his usual arrogant smirk.

“That's a good boy. I'll leave my books with you then.”

Since they were in the same class, he didn't have to explain to him what the homework was. He left his books on the bench and exited the room without saying another word.

With his sexual frustration taken care of for now, Aomine could once again focus on how to get Kagami into bed with him. After the vivid fantasy he just had, he was more determined than ever.

First he would have to gather some information about the redhead and there were several people he could ask. Momoi would probably be the best choice but then again, he wanted someone who was closer to Kagami. Someone who couldn't keep their mouth shut.

He knew just who to ask.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *faints from exhaustion* I seriously respect/admire those who can write smut like it's nothing. This wasn't even long or very detailed but I'm already drained xD. Gotta get used to it though, I guess. 
> 
> If you find errors or have constructive criticism, feel free to tell me


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lately I've been spending most of my free time playing video games and so my writing was neglected. 
> 
> Not too happy about this chapter but in order to get the story going it had to be done. 
> 
> I only have a slight idea where this is going so whenever I write I just write whatever comes to mind. I'm not the kind of person who can sit down and plan an entire story chapter by chapter.

  
“Oi, where the hell are you aiming at? Idiot.”

When Aomine threw yet another insult at Wakamatsu for missing the hoop, Kagami felt the little patience that remained in him snap like a twig. He had tried _really_ hard to ignore Aomine and his insufferable attitude but there was only so much he could take. Three weeks was quite the accomplishment though; he was surprised at himself for being able to last that long. 

Fisting his hands into tight balls he slowly turned to the bluenette. Takao who was standing next to him looked up; he followed Kagami's gaze and instantly understood what the redhead was thinking. Those blazing, red eyes said it all.

“Don't,” Takao said warningly, effectively stopping the seething redhead who had taken a step in Aomine's direction.

“Huh?”

“Trust me, I know how you feel, but whatever you're thinking it's a bad idea.”

“ _Someone_ has to beat some sense into him. If no one else has the balls to do it then I will.”

Kagami took another step forward but was once again stopped by Takao who grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

“You could get into a lot of trouble. His family is-”

“I don't care.”

The redhead yanked his arm free from his teammate's grip and with angry strides approached the bench.

“Aomine!”

The entire gym went silent at his booming voice. Kagami could feel all eyes settle on him and the smirking bluenette seated on the bench. Normally he would be uncomfortable with the attention but at that moment he was too angry to care.

”Yes, sweetheart?”

“If you're just gonna sit there on your lazy ass you might as well get out! You don't even have to be here so why the hell do you bother?”

Aomine raised an eyebrow mockingly, looking at Kagami as if he thought he was really stupid.

“Do you really have to ask? I thought it was obvious," Aomine purred and purposely raked his eyes up the fuming redhead's body. It just so happened that Kagami had taken his shirt off a little while ago, leaving his broad chest fully exposed.

"How could I ever miss the opportunity to see you all sweaty and panting wearing only a pair of shorts?”

“Bastard-”

“You should be flattered. Practice is a complete waste of my time but I show up anyway just for you.”

Any more and Kagami wouldn't be able to control himself. Despite what he'd said to Takao, he knew that his upperclassman was right. Hitting Aomine was a bad idea and the trouble he could get into wasn't worth it. So he had to find another way to shut the bastard up.

With a determined look in his eyes he picked up a basketball from the floor.

“Play me. If I win you'll leave me alone _and_ attend practice normally like everyone else for the rest of the year.”

Aomine snorted, obviously amused. While he couldn't deny that Kagami was a decent player, the guy was nowhere _near_ his level. A one-on-one would only be a waste of time and energy. He was about to turn the redhead down but changed his mind when a thought suddenly struck him. He could use this situation to his advantage.

“All right. But if _I_ win you're going out with me this Saturday.”

“Tch. No fucking way.”

“Ohh? So you don't think you can beat me?”

“That's not what I said! As if I'd lose to _you_!”

“Then you have nothing to worry about, right?”

Kagami hesitated for a brief moment. There was no way Aomine was as good as everyone said. Besides, if he backed out now he would look like a complete idiot.

“Well?”

“Fine! First to five.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

It didn't take long before the score was settled.

Kagami lost.

“Well, at least you managed to score two points against me. I guess you're not _that_ useless.”

“S-shut up...” the redhead managed to say through his heavy breathing. He was sweating like crazy, body hunched over and his hands resting on his knees.

Damn Aomine was fast. Kagami had barely been able to keep up. And what the hell was up with those shots? Aomine hadn't even _looked_ at the hoop when he threw the ball to score. He glared at the smug-looking bluenette who was looking down at him with an annoying sense of superiority.

“Saturday at seven. I'll pick you up.”

Kagami's scowl deepened.

“You don't even know where I live!”

“Kise was kind enough to give me your address.”

Kise?

_'That traitor!'_

“Guess I'll be going now.”

“Wait Aomine-” Wakamatsu began to protest but was immediately silenced by a dark glare from Aomine's eyes.

“Yes?” He asked warningly and grinned when he caught his upperclassman swallow hard in his throat.

“N-nothing.”

“I thought so.”

A few minutes after Aomine left, the coach came back from a meeting with the principal and instantly scolded them for slacking off. They all hurriedly went back to practice but Kagami found himself unable to focus on anything. The only thing that went through his head was how badly he wanted to murder Aomine in his sleep.

Aomine, on the other hand, was very pleased about the situation. Kagami had done all the work for him with his ridiculous little challenge. Now he didn't have to go through the trouble of getting Kagami to agree on going out with him by pretending to care about his life. Perhaps he wouldn't even have to use as much the information Kise had given him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aomine will be less of a jerk later on. But it will take a while before that. He's the only child of a rich family and has been spoiled his entire life so he thinks he can do whatever he wants. It may seem like things are going his way right now but he's going to struggle a lot before he gets what he wants. Just because they're going out on a date doesn't mean that he'll manage to win Kagami over. Far from it. 
> 
> *Random note* I know it's been out for a while now but damn Akashi's character song is good! * _ *


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's already been over a month since I posted anything? o.o Time sure flies. A while back I bought an online rpg game and got so absorbed by it that I spent most of my spare time playing it and completely ignored/forgot my fics xD  
> Thank you all for the positive response on the last chapter! I personally think it was kinda crappy so I was very happy when people actually liked it. 
> 
> PS!! I know that Saturdays aren't completely off in Japan, but this is my fic so I can do whatever I want. Let's pretend that Saturdays in this universe's Japan are completely off.

  
Saturday rolled in quickly. Too quick for Kagami's liking. When school finished on Friday afternoon he hadn't shared his classmates' excitement about the weekend coming up. Going out on a date with Aomine wasn't exactly his idea of fun. What a complete waste of a Saturday night.

He was still pissed about his humiliating defeat, but even more at himself for challenging Aomine in the first place. Now he'd gotten himself into the very situation he had been trying so hard to avoid. He didn't know what was worse though: losing to Aomine in the sport he loved or going out on a date with him.

Stupid Kise had been absent on Friday due to a fever so Kagami hadn't been able to confront him about his "betrayal". Of course, that didn't mean that the blonde was off the hook. Kagami had every intention of chewing him out on Monday morning.

With a sigh he opened his wardrobe and let his eyes rove over its contents for a moment. He had no idea what Aomine had planned for tonight. Not that it mattered; Kagami had decided _not_ to put an effort into his looks. No way was he dressing up to impress that asshole. In fact, he was going to wear the most plain and casual clothes he could find. He had to show Aomine that he didn't give a shit about this date or looking good in front of him. Maybe then he would finally get the hint.

In the end he chose a plain white T-shirt, a grey hoodie, blue jeans that were torn at the knees and a pair of black sneakers. At least he'd be comfortable during this hell trip. He put on some deodorant and brushed his teeth; not for Aomine, but because he wasn't a slob. He didn't bother fixing his hair though.

Twenty minutes later there was a knock on his door. With a reluctant sigh Kagami grabbed his wallet, keys and phone before entering the hall to greet his so called date.

As usual Aomine was grinning in that annoying way of his. He probably knew how much it pissed Kagami off and did it on purpose just to mess with him.

The bluenette had put more effort into his attire than Kagami but it wasn't too over the top. Black slacks, a dark blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and black leather shoes.

“Aren't you gonna let me in?”

“No, we're leaving right now.”

“That eager to go out with me, huh?”

“Don't flatter yourself. The sooner we go the sooner we can get this over with.”

Outside the apartment complex stood a fancy, expensive-looking car. Kagami could instantly tell that it belonged to Aomine and suddenly felt uncomfortable, even more so when he spotted the driver behind the wheel. He knew Aomine was rich but did he really have to show it all the time? Kagami was a simple person; he would much rather take the train than being driven around in some super fancy car.

He didn't bother hiding his foul mood, which only worsened when the driver stepped out and held up one of the doors for him. Knowing it wouldn't be of any use to protest, he got inside the car and sat down with a reluctant sigh.

Aomine took the seat next to him and it seemed like that damn grin would be permanent for the rest of the night. He opened his mouth to say something but Kagami hurried and beat him to it. There was one thing he had to make clear.

“Just to let you know: I pay for myself. Don't bother offering because I'm not letting you treat me to anything.”

Aomine blinked at him, a bit surprised, but then broke out in soft laughter.

“That's a first. Most people want the opposite. ”

"Well, I'm not most people," Kagami bit back.

If he let Aomine pay for him, he would feel like he'd be indebted to him and Kagami sure as hell didn't want to owe that jerk _anything_.

“You look really sexy tonight by the way,” Aomine purred and teasingly played with the hem of Kagami's T-shirt.

“W-what!”

That was _not_ what he wanted to hear nor had he expected it. He hadn't even meant to look sexy; hell, he had barely put any effort into his looks at all. He played basketball and got sweaty in clothes like these. Why did it always backfire when it came to the blue haired jerk?

 _'Tch. I should have worn sweatpants,'_ he thought to himself. Maybe then he would've been able to fend Aomine off. Or a smelly T-shirt with food stains.

Pushing the other's hand away from his shirt, Kagami turned to the window with an irritated huff. He kept his eyes there as the car began to drive away from his apartment complex, completely ignoring Aomine's existence.

The bluenette uttered some address to the driver but Kagami didn't care to listen. It didn't matter where they went, he was sure he wouldn't enjoy it anyway. In fact, he _refused_ to enjoy himself tonight.

 

* * *

 

The head waiter glanced at Kagami with a disapproving look. Normally the red-haired teen wouldn't take kindly to being so obviously judged, but tonight he actually welcomed it. He knew his attire wasn't permitted at a fancy place like that.

_'Come on, what are you waiting for? Kick us out. I know you don't want me here.'_

“Right this way,” the man said stoically, obviously not happy about the situation.

Kagami blinked dumbly and subconciously let his mouth open to form a surprised "O".

_'What? Noooo!'_

Why?

Aomine must've caught his confusion because he leaned close to him and mumbled quietly into his ear. There was a small hint of amusement in his voice as he spoke. As if he knew exactly what Kagami was thinking.

“The owner of this place is a friend to the family.”

Ahh of course. Really, why was he even surprised at this point? By now he should've realized that Aomine could do whatever the fuck he wanted and that he had contacts in every fucking corner across the country. If not the world.

They were led to a table in the far back at one of the windows. When they sat down the head waiter left them and Kagami could finally let his displeasure be known.

"Bastard, you took me here because you know it's too expensive for me!" He hissed darkly, but not loud enough for anyone else to hear. Earlier he had been so focused on not caring where they went that he hadn't realized just what kind of place Aomine had taken him to. Only when they stepped inside did he notice and by that point it was too late to protest unless he wanted to cause a scene.

Aomine's smirk widened and he leaned forward towards the fuming redhead over the table.

"Of course. I have a policy to always pay on the first date."

If possible, the redhead's glare intensified.

Fine. If he wanted it so badly then Kagami would gladly oblige him.

 _'Big mistake, asshole,'_ he thought smugly to himself.

When a waiter came to hand them the menus Kagami waved him off.

"I don't need it. I'll just have one of everything, please," he said without breaking eyecontact with Aomine. He didn't have to look at the menu to know that the food was really expensive. He was going to make Aomine pay, litterally.

He almost laughed when he caught the shocked expressions on both Aomine's and the waiter's faces.

"One of everything?" the waiter repeated in disbelief, as if making sure that he had heard right.

"That's what I said, wasn't it?"

"Ah yes, of course."

"Oh, we'll probably need another table to put everything on."

"Absolutely."

Perfect. This had to work. He wasn't really going eat  _everything_ that he'd ordered, even Kagami had his limits, but Aomine didn't have to know that. He would be disgusted by him and regret ever taking him out. The asshole wouldn't want to stay for another second.

"So you're really planning to eat all that?" Aomine asked after the waiter had left.

Kagami leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah. Since you're so eager to pay for me I thought I'd take the opportunity. I haven't eaten since this morning so I'm starving anyway. It's not a problem, is it?" He challenged and raised a confident eyebrow.

"Not at all." That annoying smirk was back again.

_'Hah, when I stuff my face like a starved pig you won't be saying that. I'll make sure of it.'_

The next few minutes passed with silence between them. It was awkward, at least for Kagami. Especially when Aomine wouldn't stop staring at him. It was freaking him out.

He knew that since he'd ordered so much food the wait would be a long one and while he didn't want to give the other more attention than necessary, he needed  _something_ to occupy himself with. Even if he had to talk to Aomine, it was better than being stared at. Besides, he wanted this date to be over as soon as possible and right now time seemed to pass incredibly slow. Some conversation might be able to change that.

"Why won't you practice?" He finally decided to ask. The topic was still nagging at him even after hearing Takao's explanation. Kagami wouldn't be satisfied until he heard it from Aomine himself. Though he figured he probably wouldn't like the answer.

"I'm too good for practice. You should know that by now."

Kagami scoffed.

"Oh come on, that can't be your best answer. Too good? That's stupid."

Kagami was surprised when a frown suddenly appeared on Aomine's face. Those blue eyes that were always confident and teasing were now glaring at him. He had only seen that expression on him once before, which was on the day he rejected Aomine the first time.

"Tsk, you don't get it," the bluenette muttered.

"Explain it to me then."

For a moment Aomine looked like he was seriously considering it. Would Kagami understand though? Probably not. No one understood. So instead he shook his head and went back to his cocky, arrogant self.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it. As long as I play in matches it's not a problem. Besides-"

"I'll win next time," Kagami interrupted and the bold statement made the bluenette pause for a brief moment before letting out a small chuckle.

"You? Win against me? Don't say crazy things, Kagami. I crushed you the other day, remember? That's the reason you're here in the first place."

"I didn't know what to expect that time!"

"You're a hundred years too early to beat me. I'm telling you this for your own good so you won't have to embarrass yourself again."

"Shut up. I swear I'll beat you before winter. It's a promise."

Aomine raised a curious eyebrow.

"And if you don't?"

"I _will_ win."

For some reason Aomine couldn't understand, the confident challenge sparked something in him. But as soon as it appeared it vanished. After all, he'd heard it many times before and in the end they all gave up. The fire in those eyes would be put out eventually. Just like every one else. Anything different from that didn't exist and Aomine would never allow himself to hope otherwise. Hope was a ridiculous word in his opinion.

It took half an hour before the food finally arrived. Another table had been put together to theirs to make room for all the plates. Other people around them had begun to stare in disbelief at the mountains of food but Kagami paid them no mind. It was time to put his plan into action. Aomine had only one plate in front of him; some pasta dish with a fancy name that Kagami couldn't even dream of pronouncing.

The red-haired teen took a deep breath as his eyes swept over the different plates of food, mentally preparing himself.

He began with the ribs. Grabbing one for each hand, he tore into the big chunks of meat with his teeth, making sure to smear the sauce they were coated in all across his face.

When he finished the first one he paused, looked up at Aomine and with his mouth still full happily said, "this is delicious." Then he refocused his attention back on the plate.

And so it went on, Kagami stuffing his face and making some remark every now and then. He made sure to chew loudly and with his mouth open most of the time. If this didn't work he didn't know what would. The embarrassment he felt from other peoples' stare meant nothing if it meant that Aomine would forever leave him alone.

After finishing the third dish Kagami began to feel his stomach getting full. Perhaps it was time to stop. Yes, Aomine was probably traumatized by now. Speaking of which, it had been a while since he looked at him. Slowly he raised his gaze to meet the other.

But Aomine didn't look disgusted or horrified at all. Infact, he wassmiling as he looked at Kagami, elbow on the table and chin resting in his open palm. 

"You're so cute," he suddenly said and Kagami almost dropped his fork.

....Hah?

"What!?"

And then Aomine began laughing.

Shocked at the reaction, Kagami couldn't bring himself to say anything. He could only look with wide, disbelieving eyes as his date was apparently rather enjoying himself at his expense.

Cute? No way! Even Kagami was disgusted with _himself_. How could anyone _not_ find that behavior repulsive?

"What the hell is so funny? Aren't you disgusted?"

"Kagami, I'm not stupid," Aomine said after collecting himself, "I know exactly what you're doing and I'm telling you right now that it's not working. Actually, watching you try so hard kinda turns me on."

"...."

"You gotta do a lot better than this if you want me to give up on you."

When Kagami didn't show any further signs on replying, he continued.

"You still got eight plates left. Take your time; we have all night."

Fuuuuuck!

 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

 

_"I'll kill him. "_

The sentence had been repeating itself in Kagami's head during the entire ride back to his apartment. Words could not describe how much he hated Aomine at that moment. 

He had finished all the food he ordered at the restaurant and now he was having a nightmare stomach ache. It wasn't like he'd been forced to eat it all, he could've just left the food if he didn't want it and normally he would have. However, this time it had been a matter of pride. It had obviously been a challenge from Aomine's side and Kagami refused to lose to him.

Surpressing a pained groan, Kagami weakly clutched his stomach and kept his firm gaze straight ahead. If he looked out the window, at Aomine or anywhere else for that matter he was surely going to throw up. He didn't have to look at the other boy to know that he was smirking. That bastard was probably enjoying his pitiful state.

_"Fucking sadist."_

When the car stopped outside the apartment complex, Kagami didn't waste any time and hurriedly got out of the car. Being at home and away from the blue haired bastard would make the pain a bit more endurable. 

"I'll walk you to the door."

"No."

Did Aomine listen? Of course not. But Kagami really didn't have the energy to argue at the moment so he just ignored the other. Thankfully Aomine was quiet as they walked side by side up the stairs. 

Taking the keys out of his pocket, the redhead began to unlock the front door to his apartment. Before he could open it and go inside, a tanned hand grabbed his and softly lifted it off the doorknob.

With a scowl he looked up at Aomine. What did the bastard want now? Hadn't he suffered enough already? What more could it possibly be? Unless...

_Oh fuck no_

Kagami's suspicions were confirmed when Aomine pulled him closer and let his blue eyes drop to stare at his mouth.

"If you try to kiss me I'll hit you," he warned seriously.

But Aomine wasn't fazed by the threat at all and slyly snaked one of his arms around his date's waist. There was no way the redhead would dare to do such a thing. It was just something he said in hope of scaring him away. He scoffed at the thought. There was no way he was backing off now. He had waited long enough. Besides, once they kissed Kagami would know exactly what he'd been missing and realize his mistake in resisting him for so long.

Grabbing the redhead's chin with his free hand, Aomine closed in on those tempting-looking lips. 

"I'm serious, Aomine. I'll do it."

He was so close now; he could feel the other's breath puffing against his lips and-

_BAM_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn't read the description above I'll say it again: In this universe, Saturdays are completely school-free in Japan. 
> 
> Kagami, things just aren't going your way right now.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT!!! I added a scene at the end of the last chapter so I recommend going back and read it before reading this one. You just have to read the last part. I changed it about a week ago so if you've read chapter five recently then you don't have to go back.
> 
> PS! Is it just me or is the page break line gone? You know, that line you insert to put an end to a scene in a chapter? I can't find it ! Help meee! I had to make my own by holding the underline key. >:(  
> Am I going crazy?

 

Aomine was used to being stared at. He was an attractive guy so it was only natural that people paid attention to him. In fact, he _expected_ it from them. He loved being the center of attention.

What he _wasn't_ used to, however, was the _way_ he was being stared at that Monday morning. The kind of attention he recieved from his fellow students as he walked through the school building was something he did not want. For once he  _hated_ to be noticed. 

"Dai-chan!"

He ignored Momoi when she worriedly ran up to him. Whatever she was going to say would only make his mood even worse than it already was. If possible. So he just kept walking without giving her so much as a glance.

Two boys that stood by their lockers looked at him as he passed by and their eyes instantly widened. Their hands flew up to cover their mouths as they tried to hold themselves back from laughing.

"He must've been rejected by that Kagami guy again," one of them whispered to the other.

Aomine grit his teeth. He wanted to choke them for laughing at him but he couldn't afford to get into more trouble right now. His wealth and status couldn't help him every time he did something stupid. Besides, his parents' lectures were a pain to listen to.

They were right though. It was Kagami who was the reason behind his current state. Of course it was. No one else would ever dare to give him a fucking _black eye_.

"Dai-chan!"

"Shut up, Satsuki. I'm fine."

Momoi had also heard their whispers. Of course, being the intellegent and observant girl she was, she could have easily figured out the situation by herself. She knew enough about Kagami by now to know that the redhead was in fact capable of doing such a thing to Aomine. Although not without a good reason. When she looked up at her childhood friend she gave him a scolding glare.

"I'm sure you deserved it."

"He _punched_ me, Satsuki!" Aomine yelled, shocked at the accusing words coming from his closest friend. How could she take _Kagami's_ side?

"Yes I can see that," the pink haired girl scoffed.

"Tch. The bastard should be grateful that I'm not suing him."

Momoi shook her head and let out a disapproving sigh. She had tried several times these past few weeks to convince him to leave Kagami alone. But as usual he didn't listen to her. Aomine was too stubborn when it came to things like this. Especially now when his ego was being challenged.

"Dai-chan, why don't you just give up already? Kagamin isn't interested in you. You're only making him dislike you even more by being persistant."

"This isn't about fucking him anymore! It's a matter of win or lose and I sure as hell won't lose to him."

That's right. The moment Kagami got in bed with him would be the moment Aomine won. He would make sure to see that stubborn pride shatter and turn Kagami into a complete mess under him. To fuck the redhead would just be a nice bonus.

 

* * *

 

 

Kagami leaned back in his seat with a loud yawn. He was really tired today; he hadn't been able to get much sleep since Saturday night because of his stomach. It had caused a lot of problems during the weekend but today it was gone for the most part. Thankfully. But instead of an aching stomach he now had a dizzy head and could barely keep his eyes open. Plus, he didn't have any appetite. Whenever he saw food he felt his stomach turn, which was such a shame because Kagami loved food. It was all Aomine's fault.

"You don't look so well, Kagami-kun."

If he hadn't been so tired Kagami would have jumped from his seat at Kuroko's sudden appearance and yell at him for startling him. Slowly turning his head to greet his friend with tired eyes was all he could manage today.

"Oh...hey, Kuroko. You've been there long?"

"Yes."

Kagami sighed but chose not to comment.

"Kagamicchi!"

The door to the classroom was thrown open and an eccentric Kise was revealed. The blonde hurried up to Kagami and Kuroko once he caught sight of them.

"Kagamicchi, is it true that you punched Aominecchi?"

Kagami blinked dumbly, his tired brain having problems with processing the words spewing from the other's mouth. Apparently Kuroko decided it was taking too long and answered in the redhead's place.

"It is true, Kise-kun."

"I just heard it from someone on my way here but I wanted to make sure. Wow, you're so brave Kagamicchi!"

Then suddenly Kagami stood up and grabed the collar of Kise's uniform shirt. Despite his tiredness, he hadn't forgotten about his friend's betrayal.

"Kise you bastard!"

"Waah! What are you talking about, Kagamicchi?"

"You sold me out to that creep!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to tell him that!"

"But you _did_! Do you have any idea what I had to go through? He knows where I live!"

Had Kise been a dog, his ears would've been laying flat against his head and his tail tucked between his legs. He looked absolutely pitiful.

"I-I said I'm sorry. At first I told him no. I even tried to convince him that he isn't your type. But then he gave me that _look_...and that smile," Kise trailed off as he spoke. A dreamy expression now adorned his face.

Letting go of the blonde's shirt, Kagami slumped back in his seat.

"You let him seduce you into it?" He barked angrily, his eyes practically burning.

"He's difficult to resist, okay? Unlike you I actually know what he's capable of."

Kagami's eyebrows drew together in a questioning scowl.

"What do you mean?" He asked after a moment of hesitation. Somehow he was sure that he wouldn't like the answer.

Kuroko, who had been silent so far, suddenly looked a bit troubled. A light blush of pink was staining his pale cheeks and he turned away from his two friends to look out the window, pretending that he wasn't listening to the conversation. Just like Kise, he knew  _exactly_ was Aomine was capable of but he didn't want Kagami to find out. Unfortunately, Kise was a hopeless blabbermouth.

"Well, I'm pretty popular, you know. I don't mean to brag but a lot of people think I'm good looking. I _am_ a model after all."

The unimpressed look Kagami gave him didn't stop him from continuing his ramble.

"So Aominecchi thought that it was only natural for us to sleep together because we're both so hot."

....

"You slept with him!?"

"It was last year!" Kise was quick to defend himself. 

Kagami ran a tired hand down his face and sighed.

"I can't believe this...."

"That's why I couldn't refuse him when he suddenly came up to me. When he gave me that smile I was reminded of how good he is in bed. _You_ understand what I'm talking about, right Kurokocchi?"

Kuroko, still facing the window, stiffened. He could feel Kagami's wide eyes burning into him from behind.

"K-kuroko...you too?"

Clearing his throat the pale boy slowly turned around and tried to answer with his usual monotone.

"I am not used to people like him paying that kind of attention to me and couldn't help but to feel flattered. I merely saw it as an opportunity. We didn't go all the way though...just some making out and touching."

That didn't exactlly make Kagami feel any better. Aomine had tried to kiss him with the mouth that had kissed his two best friends and done....other things to them.

"Oh god..."

"I would say I'm sorry about that, Kagamicchi...but I'm not. I don't regret it because it was amazi-"

"I don't want to hear!"

His already bad opinion about Aomine just got a whole lot worse. Who his friends decided to fool around with was none of his business, but the thought of it didn't sit well with him.  Why did it have to be Aomine of all people? Now he was more determined than ever to not end up in the bluenette's bed. Not like he had planned on doing that before, but he refused to become another name on the list.

Suddenly the silence was interrupted by the words "Dai-chan, please don't cause a scene," and a few seconds later none other than Aomine stepped inside with Momoi close behind him.

Aomine's eyes searched the room and it didn't take long until they found who they were looking for. Namely Kagami.

"Kagami!" He roared and stomped his way up to the redhead's desk. Once he stopped right in from of the other teen, Aomine slammed his hands down on the wooden surface and with a menacing glare looked down to meet red eyes.

Kagami stared at Aomine's face a for moment before bursting out with laughter. The bluenette looked hilarious with that black eye and pissed off expression.

"That's a good look for you," he teased between chuckles. Messing with Aomine proved to be quite entertaining. The bluenette had an all too big ego and Kagami had made it his mission to bring it down a notch.

"Shut up! You owe me an apology! I won't be satisfied until you beg me for forgiveness!"

"Tch, I don't owe you _anything._ In fact, _you're_ the one who should apologize."

"You hit me!"

When those words left the bluenette's mouth, Kagami heard a group of girls further back in the room gasp and suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. No doubt were they part of Aomine's little fan club. He ignored them as they glared at him from their seats, trying to burn a hole in his skull from behind.

"I warned you what would happen if you didn't back off. Sure I punched you but only because you tried to kiss me without my consent. That's what normal people call harrassment, idiot."

.....

Did Kagami just insult him?

"What did you call me?" He asked, eyes wide and full of disbelief.

"Dai-chan, is that true?"

Oh great. Now he had Momoi on him as well. Why was no one supporting him in this? _He_ was the victim here, not Kagami. The redhead should be flattered that Aomine even wanted to kiss him in the first place.

"So what? It's just a kiss. No big deal."

But Kagami did not agree on that.

"No big deal? Who knows what kind of places your mouth has been. I don't want to catch whatever you have."

"What did you say!"

"Stupid _and_ deaf? No wonder you haven't been able to seduce me. I'm way out of your league."

That last part wasn't completely true. Kagami admitted, although not out loud, that Aomine was attractive. He'd even go as far as to say that the blunette actually was his type. Appearance-wise that is. What lay underneath that beautiful surface though was just plain ugly. No matter how good looking Aomine was, his arrogant and self-loving attitude as well as the way he treated people was a huge turn-off.

That last comment was the final straw for Aomine. There were only so many insults he could take, especially from a peasant like Kagami. The redhead was so fucking ungrateful! Anyone would do anything for his attention. There was no way he could let that fucker get away with it. Momoi seemed to know exactly what was going through his head and prepared to calm him down, but before Aomine could launch himself at Kagami and beat some sense into him, the bell rang and signaled the start of homeroom.

"Everyone take your seats," the teacher mumbled as he entered the class room and walked up to the front desk. If he noticed the tension in the atmosphere he didn't show it.

With a quiet growl, Aomine gave Kagami one last death glare before backing off and taking his seat. Momoi mouthed a small "sorry" and did the same. She was obviously embarrassed by her friend's behavior and Kagami felt a little sorry for her.

Turning back, Kagami tried to focus on what the teacher was saying. He almost missed his name during the attendance. He could only hope that he would make it through the day without falling asleep and being sent off to the principal's office or get detention. All the while he felt Aomine's scorching eyes on his back but was too tired to care.

He just wanted to go home and sleep for the rest of the week.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quite a lot of dialogue in this chapter, but it had to be done. ...... ( I like dialogue)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some bonding between Kagami and Sakurai.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter as compensation for the late updates lately. This chapter has been half finished for a while now so it didn't take long to finish. It was chapter 6 that had me stuck. 
> 
> Thank you guys so much for the support. It makes someone like me, whose confidence is pretty much nonexistant, very happy! <3
> 
> (I found the horizontal line this time. For some reason the button wasn't there when I wrote the last chapter.)

 

It was on Wednesday evening that Kagami left the changing room with a wide smile on his face. He probably looked like a complete idiot but he couldn't help it. After eating nothing else but cucumber and salty crackers since Sunday night for his stomach, he was going to head straight for Maji's and get himself some cheeseburgers and a large portion of fries. Yes, he had finally gotten his appetite back. The thought of his favorite food made his mouth water. He had to hurry.

"Idiot. I know that already!"

"I'm sorry!"

Stopping in his tracks, Kagami frowned at the sudden sound. He knew those voices. What surprised him though was the fact that there were still people left. He had been the last one to leave the changing room so he'd assumed that everyone else had gone home. He'd even volunteered to lock the gym and hand in the key before heading home.

Silently he approached the gym and peeked inside through the half-closed door.

Aomine and Sakurai were the only ones in the building, the smaller boy looking even more nervous and scared than usual. Kagami was about to step inside to ask what the commotion was about but froze when Aomine spoke.

"Do you think I'm stupid, Ryou?"

"N-no!"

"Then why the hell would you even bother confessing when it's already fucking obvious? Listening to all that crap is annoying."

Sakurai lowered his head, hiding his face behind his long bangs. His shoulders were hunched and Kagami could see even from where he stood that the poor boy was shaking.

"I-I wanted to tell you properly that's all..."

"Tch. You're so pathetic."

"I'm sorry."

Aomine rudely rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. 

"So? What do you want me to say? That I like you too? That I'll go out with you? Don't make me laugh. The only reason why I'm still putting up with your sorry ass is because you're a decent fuck whenever I need to blow off some steam."

 _'Bastard!'_ Kagami thought to himself while clenching his teeth. He knew what an asshole Aomine was, but this was just abnormal. Didn't he have _any_ shame at all?

"This is such a waste of time. I'm leaving."

"I'm sorry..." Sakurai's voice cracked at the end as he desperately tried to hold himself back from crying. Kagami didn't blame him. He wasn't a very sensitive person but he could understand how painful something like this must be. Aomine didn't seem to care though. He looked completely unfazed as he arrogantly made his way out of the gym.

Kagami considered the idea of stepping out and beat the crap out of him but decided against it. He had already hit the bluenette once; if he did it again he could get into serious trouble with his family and the principal. No matter how satisfying it would be, it was more trouble than it was worth. So he hid himself behind the nearest corner as Aomine left for the parking lot where his driver was probably waiting. When it was certain that he wouldn't come back, the red-haired teen carefully entered the gym.

Sakurai had slumped down to the floor on his knees and was no longer holding back his tears. The choked sobs made something inside Kagami snap. Maybe he should've punched Aomine again after all. He shook his head; he had to calm down if he was to talk with Sakurai. He had noticed since he joined the basketball club that the other boy tended to avoid him best he could as if he was scared of him. Gently was the way to go here.

"Hey," he said softly and got down on his hunches in front of the smaller boy.

Sakurai flinched and looked up at him with wide eyes. He hadn't heard Kagami come in. Hurriedly he began to wipe the tears away while trying to come up with an excuse for his behavior.

"K-kagami-san...I'm sorry, I just-"

"You confessed to him, didn't you?"

If possible, Sakurai's eyes widened even further. 

"Eh? H-how do you-"

"I heard it. Well, not your confession, but his response."

"Oh...I see."

"I'll beat him up-"

"No! Please don't. I-it's my fault anyway."

Kagami raised an eyebrow questioningly. How was it Sakurai's fault? The boy really had some serious issues with his self esteem. He always let people push him around and apologized for everything. Once he even apologized for being alive.

"I already knew he would reject me but decided to confess anyway."

"Still, what he said to you was wrong. I'm really pissed at him right now."

The gym was silent for a moment. Kagami had so much he wanted to say; he wanted to scold his teammate for not standing up for himself but knew that it wouldn't make things any better at the moment. So he kept quiet and waited until Sakurai calmed himself down. 

"I'm terrible. You're such a nice person, Kagami-san yet I can't help being jealous of you. Aomine-san wants you so much and I-"

"Hey, don't say that. It's not _me_ he wants; just my ass. Besides, we both deserve so much better than him," Kagami said comfortingly and stood up. He held a hand out towards Sakurai who grabbed it after a brief moment of hesitation. He helped the boy pull himself up from the floor and gave him a reassuring smile.

"I'm stopping at Maji's on my way home. Wanna join me?"

Sakurai let go of his hand.

"Eh? I don't know..."

"If you don't want to you just have to say so," Kagami reassured. He knew Sakurai had a tendency to be unable to refuse other people's requests. He didn't want to pressure him.

Sakurai shook his head.

"No, I'll go with you."

"Great. I just gotta lock up and return the key first."

 

* * *

 

Kagami had gotten used to peoples' reaction when they saw how much he was able to eat. So when Sakurai stared wide-eyed at the large pile of cheeseburgers on his tray he only shrugged and flashed a small grin.

"I know. I eat a lot." Especially today. Cucumber and salty crackers hadn't exactly helped to sate his hunger these past few days.

"You want one?" He asked after a second of thought.

"No I'm fine."

Kagami looked at the other's tray. A small portion of fries and a soda. He sighed and shook his head disapprovingly.

"Here," he said and carefully threw a burger at Sakurai's tray.

"T-thank you."

There was a moment of silence between them. Sakurai looked uncomfortable and Kagami was stuffing his face with much eagerness. It was so good to finally eat real food again. He could almost cry with joy. After a while he decided to pause in his eating and confront his team mate about what happened earlier. There was one thing he wanted to know.

"So? Why do you even like Aomine in the first place? It doesn't seem like he treats you very well. He's a complete jerk."

A small smile graced Sakurai's lips. He averted his eyes shyly.

"He has his good sides too. There are times when he's nice to me. Besides, we're childhood friends so I'm kind of used to it."

Well that was a surprise. Kagami looked at the boy curiously.

"Really?"

Sakurai nodded.

"My mother has worked for his family a long time so I used to spend a lot of time at his house when I was small. Aomine-san had difficulties making friends back then but he got along pretty good with me; whenever I was there we played together."

"Hah. I can't imagine Aomine as a kid," Kagami mumbled with a snort and took a big bite out of a burger. As he chewed Sakurai continued.

"Momoi-san is a childhood friend to us too. The three of us went to the same middle school."

"Momoi? Oh her. She's our manager isn't she?"

The other teen nodded.

"She and I are pretty similar actually. We both feel responsible for Aomine-san; when you know him like we do it's almost impossible to leave him to himself. If we don't look after him there is no telling what he'll do. He's hopeless on his own but he doesn't realize that himself, so both Momoi-san and I put up with being yelled and cursed at."

 _'What are you, his babysitter?'_ Kagami wanted to comment but felt like it would only ruin the moment. Sakurai looked genuinly happy when he spoke about Aomine. Not that he understood why. How could anyone put up with a "friend" like that? Even if they were childhood friends it didn't excuse Aomine's behavior towards him and apparently Momoi as well.

"What happened today was my fault. I chose a bad time to tell him my feelings. He's probably still frustrated about what happened between you two and took it out on me. I shouldn't have bothered him."

Kagami sighed. He had to say it.

"Look, I understand that you care about him but that doesn't mean you should let him treat you like that. Being someone's friend also means that you have to let them know when they're being a jerk and smack them for it. You should love yourself more."

Sakurai tensed at those last words. Kagami was afraid that perhaps he'd said too much but relaxed when the other nodded with a small smile.

"I'll try."

The atmosphere wasn't nearly as tense as it was before. In fact, it was actually kind of nice.

Not feeling like talking about Aomine anymore, Kagami decided to change the subject.

"By the way, Sakurai, you're a starter on our team, right? You'll be playing in the Inter High?

"Ah y-yes."

"That's really cool. I heard you became a regular last year. You must be pretty good, huh? I mean, I haven't really seen you in real action since I just joined. I'm looking forward to it."

Not used to being complimented, Sakurai blushed and averted his eyes shyly. He began to fidget with the paper mug in his hands.

"I'm not that good. Compared to the other regulars I'm nothing special."

"There's nothing wrong with admitting that you're good, you know. You became a regular in your first year because you _are_ something special. It's okay to be proud of it. I'm actually kind of envious."

Kagami was envious of _him_? Sakurai really didn't know what to think about that. Kagami was so much better than him in so many ways. If anything, _he_ should be the envious one. Of course he was happy about his position on the team and being recognized for his skills, but he usually didn't show it openly. Perhaps Kagami was right, maybe he should be a bit more proud of himself.

"Wanna play together sometime?"

"Y-you wanna play with _me?_ "

"Yeah why not?"

"Sure."

Sakurai stayed until Kagami finished. The redhead had told him that he didn't need to wait, but the smaller boy was actually enjoying being with Kagami. It was refreshing after all the stress he had experienced lately. They walked together and talked about all sorts of things, mostly basketball though, until they had to part ways.

"Kagami-san..."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for today."

"No problem. Thanks for joining me; I had a good time."

"Me too. Uhm...about Aomine-san, please don't-"

"Don't worry; I won't do anything. This stays between us."

The brown haired boy let out a relieved breath. Then he jumped slightly in surprise when one of Kagami's hands landed on his head and gently ruffled his hair. 

"But if you ever _want_ me to beat him up for being a jerk towards you just come and tell me, okay?"

For a brief moment Sakurai was at a loss. He could only stare at the redhead. He'd always considered Kagami good-looking, but the frown the redhead often wore and the intensity in his eyes kind of ruined it. But now with that soft expression and warm smile Kagami was...beautiful. It was so different from Aomine's beauty that he had fallen so hard for, but not in the least bit inferior. He couldn't help but to feel a little guilty for having been scared of Kagami before today.

Collecting himself from his thoughts, Sakurai returned the smile and nodded.

"Yes. Thank you, Kagami-san."

"Just Kagami is fine. Well, guess I'll see you tomorrow." With a wave Kagami turned forward and began to walk away. Before he could get too far, Sakurai called after him.

"Kagami, let me make you lunch for tomorrow!"

Stopping, the red-haired teen looked back over his shoulder.

"Huh?"

"I-I'm pretty good at cooking and I thought I could make you a bentou for tomorrow as thanks for today."

"You don't have to thank me-"

"Please. I want to."

Kagami sighed. The offer was pretty appealing though. He had seen Sakurai's lunches several times at practice and it looked really delicious. Besides, who was he to turn down free food?

"All right then. I'm looking forward to it."

The other boy smiled excitedly.

"Yes, see you tomorrow!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Childhood friends yo. Sorry for making Sakurai such a wimp btw xD


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh this chapter is a mess.... I'm sorry!
> 
> So it's been a while. I started my first year in university in january so I've been busy with that. Plus, this chapter has been a real pain. I've lost count on how many times I've re-written it and I still don't like it. But I decided to post it anyway because I just wanted to post something. 
> 
> The next chapter is half finished so it shouldn't take too long.

 

"Here you go, Kagami-san," Sakurai said and held out a bentou for the other teen he'd just addressed. It had taken a few minutes for him to gather the courage to approach the redhead when lunch came around. It wasn't like he was afraid of Kagami, not anymore anyway, but Kise and Kuroko were there too and their curious looks made him nervous.

Kagami's eyes lit up when they landed on the lunch box. He gladly accepted it with a "thanks" and instantly opened the lid to have a look inside.

He nearly drooled at the sight.

He had been looking forward to trying Sakurai's food since the offer came up last night. Since he lived by himself he didn't have anyone to cook for him; he had to make all the food himself. Not that he didn't enjoy cooking, but sometimes it could be quite a tiresome task. Especially after a long day of school and basketball practice. And shopping for ingredients could be a real pain as well. When it came to lunch in school he usually bought from the cafeteria; if he wanted to make home made stuff he would have to wake up earlier in the mornings and to him it wasn't really worth it.

So being treated like this was nice. 

Not able to wait any longer, Kagami took a bite of the home made lunch.

"Wow, this is so good!" He exclaimed in amazement with his mouth still full.

And just like that, Sakurai was once again stunned by the unexpected change of expression on the redhead's face. Yesterday the word beautiful had popped up in his head when Kagami smiled at him, but the look he wore now as he ate his food could only be described as... cute.

Yes, the big and intimidating Kagami Taiga looked _cute_. It was an almost childish kind of look but certainly not in a bad way. 

"I'm glad you like it," the brown haired boy said with a small smile. 

"Will you teach me how to make this sometime?"

"S-sure. Do you cook, Kagami-san?"

"Hey, just Kagami, remember? And yeah, I do cook since I live alone." Kagami took another bite before adding, "though I have no idea how to make this stuff."

"I'd be happy to teach you."

"Great!"

Behind them, Kuroko and Kise shared confused looks. Since when were Kagami and Sakurai such good friends? They never talked to each other. At least not outside of practice. But the biggest question was _why_ Sakurai had made Kagami _lunch_. They, or at least Kise anyway, were dying to find out. 

The fact that it was homemade, along with the way Sakurai blushed and Kagami smiled as they talked to each other, made them look like a couple. The air around them practically sparkled.

And they weren't the only ones who thought so; at the other end of the corridor stood Aomine. His dark blue eyes were narrowed as he tried to make sense of the odd situation in front of him.

He had been on his way to the cafeteria when he'd caught sight of Kagami and Sakurai together. Seeing them interact with each other in such a friendly manner was weird enough, but then his childhood friend had suddenly given the redhead a fricking bento. Like, what the hell? But the absolutely worst part was that look on Kagami's face.

It was _that_ smile again. He'd seen it a few times before but had never been on the recieving end of it. It kind of bothered him that Kagami seemed to get along so well with everyone but refused to act friendly with Aomine himself. All _he_ ever got was scowls and snarls. It was such a shame because the redhead looked great smiling like that. And this time it was fucking _Sakurai_ who was the reason for it. It pissed him off. Not to mention, his childhood friend looked at Kagami like a lovesick puppy.

Since when were they so close?

Aomine wanted to march up there and confront them but he was still kind of pissed at Kagami about the other day. He didn't feel like talking to him right now. Sakurai, though, was another matter. There was one thing he had to make clear to him.

"Oi Ryou!"

Kagami and Sakurai's conversation was brought to an end when that familiar voice barked out from the other end of the corridor. They both turned to look at Aomine, Kagami's eyes narrowing in annoyance.

"Well, I have to go," Sakurai said with an apologetic smile.

"You sure? You can come eat with us if you want."

"Thanks, but I promised Momoi-san and Aomine-san."

Kagami sighed but didn't take the matter any further. 

"Alright. See you later then."

Sakurai returned the gesture and with that began to make his way up to Aomine with a light jog. As soon as he stopped in front of him, the bluenette began the confrontation.

"Why the hell are you making lunch for Kagami?" He asked with a scowl.

Sakurai didn't look at him when he answered. His eyes were trained on the ground and he fiddled with his hands nervously.

"He helped me with something yesterday so...I wanted to thank him."  

"Yesterday?"

"Y-yes...after you left he helped me clear the gym of some stuff," the smaller boy lied.

 Aomine scoffed. So Kagami had still been there, huh? 

“So now you two are best buddies? You could've just said thank you; did you really have to cook for him?” It bothered him. A lot. 

“....”

"Do you like him, Ryou?"

This time Sakurai looked up. His brown eyes widened slightly at the sudden question.

"Eh?"

Gritting his teeth, Aomine grabbed the front of the other boy's shirt and yanked him forward.

"I asked you if you _like_ him?" His voice was harsh as he spoke. He didn't give Sakurai much time to answer, the smaller boy had only began to stammer something out before he continued.

“Don't get too close to him. He's mine, understand?”

Sakurai nodded.

“You can have him _after_ I'm done with him. But until then you stay away.” Aomine paused before adding with a light chuckle, “not that you have a chance on him anyway.”

 

* * *

 

  
"If you ask me, that black eye is an improvement," Himuro said jokingly as he began to cut the vegetables for the stir-fry he and Kagami were having for dinner.

They didn't have practice that day since the coach wanted them to be fully rested for tomorrow's game. So when school ended, Himuro went home with Kagami to spend the night. It had become quite a common occurrence lately. They had become really good friends in the short time that they'd known each other.

Kagami sniggered at the third year's comment and continued to dice up the meat. It was nice to have someone to cook with. Living alone could be quite lonesome. 

"Totally.”

Out of all his friends, Himuro was probably the one he felt most comfortable to be around. He liked to spend time with Kuroko and Kise too, but they didn't share his passion for basketball and Himuro somehow made him feel more relaxed than the others. Kagami liked that.

"So are you excited for tomorrow?"

"Hell yes. Hopefully I'll get to play despite being a replacement."

Himuro couldn't help but chuckle at the excitment in Kagami's eyes.

"Don't worry, you will."

Kagami raised an eyebrow questioningly at him and paused what he was doing for a second.

"You seem very sure."

"It's a preliminary game; Aomine probably won't bother with it. He didn't last year."

“Hmph that doesn't surprise me. But if that means I get to play he can go die for all I care.”

Himuro agreed.

"Same here. I mean, he's good and all, but his selfish attitude on the court is really bothersome. Whenever we win a game it feels like it's all _his_ victory and not the team's."

"Don't worry, once I beat his ass I'll take his place," Kagami stated confidently. Before the year ended he would beat Aomine and knock him off his high horse. He had sworn after all.

Himuro sighed. The thought of Aomine on the bench and sharing the court with Kagami instead was rather appealing to him.

"Do it soon, Kagami."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be more jealousy on Aomine's part later on. : 3


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg you guys are such angels! I was so worried about last chapter being bad but you sent me such nice words :´) Thank you so much for the support <3
> 
> Ok so after this chapter there will be a small timeskip. I won't focus too much on the basketball competition in this fic. Up until now has kind of been an introduction. Things will start to develop from now on.

  
Their first official game of the year. No one was surprised that Aomine was late. In fact, most of the team had half expected it. Just like Himuro had said the night before, it was just a preliminary game after all so the bluenette probably didn't care much for it. “A waste of time” most likely. When the team met up before the game, Momoi had called him and apparently woken him up from his mid-day nap.

Wakamatsu was pissed, Sakurai was under the impression that it was all his fault, Imayoshi was rather cool about it and so was the coach but neither of them were fully able to mask their disappointment.

Kagami didn't blame them.

He wasn't as mad as his teammates though because it was decided that he would take Aomine's place as power forward. At least until the lazy bluenette got there. So Aomine could gladly miss the entire game as far as Kagami was concerned. 

Their opponent was apparently a rather small school. It was a newly formed team and this was their first time entering the Inter High tournament. Despite that though, they were actually pretty good. Nice teamwork and decent players with good individual skills. They even took the lead with a few points at the end of the first quarter. But when the second quarter began Kagami impressed everyone with his play. In five minutes he had increased the score difference with 12 points.

The excitement of the game and playing against skilled opponents made him go all out. Some people might have found that unnecessary; they were obviously better than the other team and were sure to win so why not hold back a little? But Kagami had a policy of never going easy on his opponents. It was his way of showing respect to those he played against, assuring them that he took them seriously and didn't underestimate anyone. No matter who it was, he wanted to give them a fair chance to beat him at his best. There was nothing satisfying about winning against someone who didn't even try. At least in Kagami's opinion.

“Was Kagami always this good?” Wakamatsu muttered out loud during their two minute time-out, watching the redhead curiously while taking a sip from his water bottle.

Himuro, who stood next to him, smiled and gave a short nod.

“Yeah, he gets really into it when it's serious. He has been looking forward to this; couldn't even sleep last night because he was so excited.”

Wakamatsu looked at him questioningly.

“How do you know that?”

“I spent the night at his place.”

“I see...”

After the short break the game continued. The opposite team had decided to put more pressure on Kagami. Since the height of the redhead's jumps was difficult to counter they tried to keep him as far away from the basket as possible. Two of their players were double teaming him so that he wouldn't be able to receive any passes either.

But Kagami wasn't the only good player on the team. Fortunately for them, their opponents seemed to have forgotten that.

Wakamatsu blocked a shot of the other team's power forward and passed the ball to Imayoshi. Their captain sped forward, dribbling past two other players. He let them catch up before passing the ball backwards to Sakurai. This caused a brief second of confusion and using that to his advantage Sakurai scored a three-pointer with one quick, fluid throw.

“Nice job, Sakurai!” Kagami beamed excitedly. He held up one of his hands for a high-five, waiting for his shorter team mate to return it.

Sakurai smiled back and slapped his palm against Kagami's.

Then the redhead turned to Imayoshi with much enthusiasm.

“You too, captain! That pass was awesome!”

Imayoshi and Wakamatsu glanced at each other with wide eyes. A silent agreement was shared between them.

_An angel_

The second quarter ended with Touou in the lead with sixteen points. Aomine had arrived about a minute before it ended and so got a quick glimpse of the opposing team's strength. And just like he'd thought, they weren't worth his time.

But Kagami looked really sexy in that black jersey so it wasn't a total waste.

Their 10 minute interval break was spent in the locker room. Sakurai had made honey-soaked lemon slices for everyone but Wakamatsu snatched the box and gobbled down more than half of it by himself.

The strategy for the next half didn't differ much from the first half. They could beat their opponent without much difficulty. But this time Aomine would be on the court as the power forward.

“Coach, we don't need him. We're doing fine with Kagami on the team!” Wakamatsu protested. The idea of having to play together with Aomine wasn't all that appealing to him. He'd rather have Kagami, someone who actually _passed_ the ball and cared about teamwork. And the redhead's positive attitude was very refreshing.

“Why are you guys so excited? It's just a preliminary against a bunch of nobodies.”

“Then why did you show up in the first place? You could've stayed at home.” Kagami snapped, irritable now that he wouldn't get to play anymore today.

Aomine scoffed.

“I wouldn't mind watching you play house with the team, but coach wants me in so be a good boy and quietly sit on the bench.”

He actually _wanted_ to play now. Not because he was excited or to have fun, but the “we can do it” attitude that radiated from the other team disgusted him and he wanted nothing more than to shatter it into a million pieces. Those childishly determined eyes and encouraging words was something he really couldn't stand. He'd make sure they never wanted to play basketball again. They didn't deserve it.

Plus, now he could show off in front of Kagami. Basketball seemed to be the only way to get through to the stubborn idiot anyways. Perhaps he would be turned on by his amazing skills. He wouldn't go all out but he'd put more effort into it than he did during his one-on-one with Kagami.

“You can watch from there as I crush those losers,” he told his red-haired teammate and with that left the locker room to get warmed up.

“I was getting lonely on the bench anyway,” Takao joked along with a pat on Kagami's back. The redhead knew that his team mate didn't mean anything bad by it, but it only worsened his mood.

Being Aomine's replacement sucked.

 

* * *

 

 

 _'Damn he's good,'_ Kagami couldn't help but think as he watched his teammate play. To acknowledge the other's superior skills was like taking a punch to the face and he wouldn't admit it out loud, especially not to Aomine himself, but it was the truth. The blue haired jerk was amazing on the court and it made Kagami want to play against him again.

However, he did notice a couple of things. Firstly, Aomine wasn't playing seriously. He was beating the other team by himself but he was obviously holding back. Two, there was no trace of excitement or enjoyment on Aomine's face. His eyes were dead and cold; the only thing showing in them was boredom. And then there was the occasional smirk of mockery.

Kagami thought back to his and Aomine's a one-on-one in the gym.

_He didn't play me seriously at all._

The realization pissed him off.

“He's not even trying” he muttered to no one in particular but Takao heard him.

“Yeah it happens a lot. Last year he didn't even bother showing up to most preliminary games.”

“Himuro told me. It's stupid.”

Kagami felt sorry for the other team. They were being completely looked down on and they knew it. In the first half of the game they had been so determined and encouraging towards each other. But now they were slowing down and the fighting spirit in their eyes was beginning to fade. They were giving up.

With a sigh Kagami turned his attention away from the court. He'd lost interest now with their opponents breaking. Besides, watching Aomine run back and forth taunting the other team with his play was starting to get boring no matter how good he was. If the jerk wouldn't play seriously then Kagami wouldn't show interest.

So he began to talk to Takao instead.

Just when he did so, Aomine scored with another formless shoot. The crowd cheered him on, amazed at his skills. With a smug smirk he turned to the bench where Kagami was seated, eager to see his reaction to his awesome play, but his cocky expression instantly fell.

The stupid idiot wasn't even looking! He was talking casually with Takao, not paying attention to the game at all. Wasn't he impressed by how good he was? He was crushing the other team all by himself!

That redhead _had_ to be doing it on purpose just to spite him. 

God damn it, why was Kagami so insistent on denying him the attention he wanted? Would it be so difficult to acknowledge that Aomine was a superior being? Most people did it, so what was the problem?

The game ended with Touou as the winner. Obviously. They won with double the other team's score. But despite their victory, the team didn't seem all that excited about it. Kagami understood now what Himuro had meant yesterday.

“ _Whenever we win a game it feels like it's all his victory and not the team's.”_

Yep. He totally understood.

An arm suddenly slung itself around his shoulders from behind. Kagami scowled and released a silent growl of annoyance. He knew exactly who it was.

“What do you think, Kagami? I was pretty amazing, right? Especially my last shot.”

The red haired teen shrugged.

“I guess.”

“You guess? Is that all you have to say?” Aomine asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Yeah. What, you want a medal or something?” Kagami tried really hard to suppress the smirk that tugged at his lips. Messing with Aomine's fragile ego was just too much fun. He could do that all day.

Aomine scoffed in annoyance. There was no point in taking it further than that so he dropped the subject. It was his turn to grin when he came up with another question. His voice held a teasing tone when he spoke.

“By the way, how's your “gonna beat you before the year ends” promise coming along?”

To his surprise, Kagami didn't seem irritated by the question.

“It's coming along fine actually. I can safely say that I'll have beaten you before winter.”

“Oh? You're very confident.”

At that Kagami smiled. An actual _smile_. It was the first time he had done that in Aomine's presence. It wasn't that angel-smile he'd seen a couple of times before, but a normal and almost friendly one. The bluenette was at a loss for a moment. He certainly hadn't expected that. His arm dropped from Kagami's shoulders as the shock from the sudden gesture made him halt for a moment. He almost didn't hear the redhead's response.

“Yeah I am.”  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They all go to Touou, sorry that I haven't made that clear until now xD Unlike the manga/anime, Touou actually values team work.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know those chapters that won't turn out good no matter how many times you re-write them? Yes? Well, this is one of them. After several failed attempts I got lazy which I apologize for. But the story has to progress somehow; there are future chapters that I really look forward to writing 
> 
> I hope it's not too much of a disaster xD

  
Kagami felt content when he stepped into his apartment. It felt good to be back in what he now considered his home. It was hot outside, almost as hot as it had been in L.A, and he'd spent the last few hours trying to get away from the chaotic place known as the airport.

A lot of people traveled during the summer; getting ahold of a taxi to drive him home had been difficult. Kagami had had to wait for two whole hours in the sticky heat, among crying children and disrespectful people pushing through with enormous suitcases. The red-haired teen even had a light bruise on his left hip from an old man crashing into him with one of said suitcases. 

But he was home now, back from the US where he'd spent the first two weeks of his summer break. His father and aunt lived there so it made sense to go for a visit. It hadn't been that long since he moved to Japan but he really missed them. He had some good friends there that he wanted to see as well.

However, that was only half the reason behind Kagami's decision to go. There was something else that fueled him.

Basketball.

If he wanted to get good enough to beat Aomine before winter then practicing by himself and with his team mates wouldn't be enough. It annoyed him, but it was the truth. If he wanted to improve to that extent in such a short time, he had to go and train with his old teacher and friends in L.A.

It was a good thing he did because it had really paid off. And he'd had a great time doing it.

Kagami took off his shoes and dropped the duffle bag on the floor, rolling shoulders that had become stiff from carrying the rather heavy weight. A sigh of relief fell from his lips.

With tired strides he walked into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water which he finished in two big gulps. Then he took a cold shower, changed into a pair of basketball shorts and flopped down on the couch. He deserved a nap after all this; he had barely gotten any sleep for the past 12 hours. His seat on the plane had been next to a mother and her two hyperactive kids.

As he began to drift off he thought about how much he looked forward to play against Aomine again once school started.

 

* * *

 

He didn't have to wait that long. One evening only a few days after he'd come back home he ran into Aomine by chance at a court. Kagami had been on his way home from Himuro's place and decided to go through the park. There he'd heard the sound of a basketball bouncing and being the basketball idiot that he was, he couldn't possibly ignore it.

When he saw the blue-haired teen he was surprised; he didn't think that the other would actually play at a street court in the middle of Tokyo. Aomine was rich, wasn't he? Didn't he have, like, a big fancy gym at home where he could play?

“Hey,” Kagami decided to say after watching the other for a minute. The only sign that might indicate that the other had heard him as the brief pause of dribbling.

“Heard from Tetsu that you went to America,” the bluenette said but didn't bother to look at the other.

“Yeah. My dad lives there.”

Aomine grunted noncommittally and went back to bouncing the ball. To be honest he had been disappointed when he'd heard about the redhead's departure. Summer was the perfect time to get closer to him without school or practice getting in the way. But then the idiot suddenly disappeared and went to the other fucking side of the world for half their summer break, leaving Aomine with only two weeks to work with. Plus, practice was starting soon and the last week of their break would be spent at training camp which Aomine didn't plan to attend.

“Play me,” Kagami suddenly said after a few minutes of silence.

The bluenette made a shot and the ball went into the basket smoothly.

“No thanks,” he scoffed.

“Come on! It won't be like last time.”

“Yeah right. It doesn't matter how much you practice. The only one who can beat me is me.”

….

“What?” Kagami asked incredulously and wasn't quite able to hold back a laugh.

“Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?”

“Shut up!” Aomine snapped with a light blush now on his cheeks. He didn't like being laughed at.

“Are you saying that no one can beat you even though you never practice? So you're, like, unbeatable already?”

“That's what I said, wasn't it?”

“So if you played against a professional player in the NBA you'd win?”

“....”

“Well?”

“Whatever! Why are you so stuck on me not practicing anyway? It has nothing to do with you. What I do is my choice.”

“I just think it's sad. You're missing out on a lot; practice is fun.”

“Lame.”

Kagami shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, I'm gonna beat you today anyway so it doesn't matter.”

This match wasn't just about beating Aomine. He'd realized after their first game in the Inter High preliminaries that he actually felt _sorry_ for the bluenette.

Being so good at it, Aomine had probably spent most of his life playing basketball which meant that he actually loved it. Kagami had thought about it a lot and had come to realize that Aomine was...lonely. He had become “too good”, at least by Japanese standards, and didn't have anyone on equal footing to play with.

Many of the teams they'd met during the Inter High had given up when they saw how good he was. It must be really frustrating to constantly see your opponents lose their will to play and not be able go at full strength. Especially if you loved the sport that much. And no matter how arrogant and uncaring Aomine appeared to be on the court, there were moments where he wasn't fully able to mask his true feelings. It was a sad thing to see.

So Kagami had decided; he was going to make basketball fun for Aomine again. Sure he didn't like the other very much, but perhaps part of the bluenette's bad attitude was the product of this basketball issue. If he beat him, he might see another side of Aomine. A good side.

“Hmph, that's what you said last time. You think a month and a half is enough to make you better than me?” The bluenette asked with a slight smirk.

“Yeah.”

And just like that, his smirk fell. Aomine released a deep sigh. Where did that confidence even come from? No, Kagami wasn't confident, he was _cocky_ , and Aomine didn't like that. It was time to put the redhead in his place.

“Fine. I've always wanted to see you cry anyway.”

“Bring it on.”

Kagami wouldn't lose.

 

* * *

 

He'd won. Twice. Aomine had demanded a rematch after the first game, insisting that Kagami's victory had been a fluke.

 _"You only won cause I was busy staring at your ass. You distracted me so it doesn't count,"_ is what he'd said, masking his shock with a smirk. But Kagami saw through the act. Aomine had indeed played him seriously but he'd beaten him. Nevertheless, he accepted the demand and they played a second time which ended with Kagami taking him down a second time. And it felt _so_ great.

A smile broke out on his lips as he took a big chug from his water bottle. He then turned back around to look at the other with a grin.

  
“See? This is what happens when you don't practice. Guess you don't have an excuse to skip practice anymore.”

  
“Shut up.”

It had been such a long time since he'd lost. So long that he'd forgotten what it felt like. But now he remembered; loosing sucked.

“Everyone loses sometime. I'll play you whenever you want so don't make that face,” Kagami said with a surprisingly friendly grin. He wasn't gloating, wasn't rubbing his victory in like the bluenette had thought he would. Aomine knew he would have done that himself. But not Kagami; why was he being so nice? 

When Aomine didn't say anything back, the red-haired teen shrugged and with a small wave turned to leave.

“Thanks for playing me. See ya.”

Aomine said nothing as he watched Kagami's rereating back. He wouldn't be able to move even if he wanted to; he was practically rooted to the spot where he stood due to the shock and sudden feeling of self-doubt. Did this mean that Kagami was actually better than him? 

He was angry, frustrated, exhausted and nearly at the brink of tears. He had fucking _lost_!

....So why was he smiling?

 

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I completely forgot to mention that Touou won the Inter High tournament xD I'll try to squeeze it in somewhere in the story. Sorry about that.
> 
> Anyway, here's the next chapter and as always, thank you for the support. You're all angels <3

 

The best part of summer break was, in Kagami's opinion, the freedom to sleep for as long as he wanted in the morning. There was no screeching alarm waking him up at 6:30 am, telling him to get out of bed and hurry to school. He could eat breakfast in peace in front of the tv, he didn't have to wash his uniform every few days and he didn't have to suffer through boring lectures or stress about upcoming tests. But again, the best part was waking up at noon fully rested. 

He had slept particularly good last night after beating Aomine. Usually he wasn't one to brag or gloat but he felt very good about himself.

Kagami unconsciously nuzzled into his pillow, dreaming about something with surfing boards when a sudden, high pitched noise woke him up. A heavy groan fell from his lips and he buried his face further into the soft pillow, hoping that the annoying sound would stop.

It didn't.

As he began to wake up fully he realized that it was his doorbell. It was being pushed repeatedly and he figured that it wouldn't stop unless he opened the door to greet whoever it was that saw fit to wake him up so rudely.

The red-haired teen glanced at his alarm clock.

_9:00 AM_

With a growl he dragged himself out of bed and stomped his way to the hall in only a pair of boxers. He unlocked the door and threw it open; he was about to snap at his visitor but the words died on his tongue when he registered who it was.

He couldn't believe this.

There at his doorstep stood none other than Aomine himself, with his usual bored expression and hands casually resting in his pockets. There was something different about him though, but Kagami couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe because he was still tired. Aomine had just woken him up after all.

“Aomine? What the hell are you doing here?” He grumbled tiredly and rubbed his eyes. He'd forgotten that the other knew where he lived.

Tsk, what a nuisance.

“Play me,” the bluenette demanded. His tone indicated that he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Kagami sighed.

“It's too early for this...”

Seriously, why did it have to be now?

“You said you'd take me on _whenever I want_ , remember?”

Oh. Right.

Kagami ran a tired hand down his face as he mentally cursed himself. Saying that had been a mistake. Sure he'd meant it, but he'd never thought that Aomine would actually take it seriously. Or at least not come to him for a rematch so soon. It had only been one day! And they were on their summer break now; it was a time meant for sleeping until noon.

On the other hand, playing against Aomine was nothing short of amazing so he really couldn't refuse. And he had promised to play him anytime.

“Fine. Just let me get ready,” he muttered a closed the door. He agreed to play Aomine but he sure as hell wouldn't let him inside his house. Plus, he hadn't missed the way those dark eyes had roved over his body. Had he known it was Aomine he would've put on a shirt.

Aomine stared dumbly at the door, a bit taken aback but quickly collected himself. He was used the redhead's cold treatment by now. Though he hadn't actually expected having a door slammed shut in his face.

“...I'll just wait out here then,” he said, more to himself seeing as no one was around to hear. At least he had the image of a newly awake Kagami in boxers and sexy bed hair to entertain himself with while he waited.

Kagami quickly got dressed, packed a bottle of water and a towel in a small duffle bag and lastly grabbed his basketball. He decided to skip breakfast, mainly because Aomine was outside waiting for him but also because it would slow him down while playing. He decided to bring his wallet; he'd stop by at Maji for lunch after their one-on-one.

A few minutes later the two of them were on their way to the closest court; Kagami tried not to be bothered by the awkward silence between them but it proved to be rather difficult. They hadn't exactly gotten along well so far and Aomine wasn't the best of company, but considering that they would be spending a few hours together it couldn't hurt to at least try to get along with him, right?

  
“Didn't take you for a morning person,” he finally said.

Aomine shrugged.

“Couldn't sleep well last night so I went for a walk and happened to end up here. Thought I might as well stop by and have you relieve my boredom.”

Kagami raised a skeptical brow as he subtly let his eyes take in Aomine's attire; a white t-shirt, black basketball shorts and what looked to be brand new basketball shoes. On top of that, he had a sports bag slung over his right shoulder. The bluenette had obviously planned this. And Aomine didn't live anywhere close to him, if Kise's words were anything to go by, so he must've taken a _really_ long walk to end up in this neighborhood. The redhead didn't comment on that though.

“And it didn't occur to you that _I_ might be asleep?” He asked instead and gave out another small sigh.

One single phrase was all he got in response. “ _Whenever I want._ ”

“Fine, I get it!”

Kagami didn't miss the small smirk on the other's face.

And to think that he'd actually felt sorry for the jerk a few weeks ago....

 

* * *

 

 

They had been at it for two hours when the lack of breakfast made itself known to Kagami's stomach. He had been hungry for a while actually, but not so much that it interefered with his play. But now his fuel really was down at zero. On top of that, their intense games had left him exhausted and his head ached. Aomine didn't look much better so they decided to call it a day.

They'd been tied through the entire time but Kagami won the last game by one point.

His stomach suddenly gave out a rather loud growl as he and Aomine sat on one of the benches. He heard a quiet snicker next to him and looked at Aomine who wore an amused grin.

"Hmm, what's that?" He asked teasingly.

Kagami huffed and with a roll of his eyes got to his feet. He took one last sip from his water bottle before putting it into his bag, getting ready to leave.

"Well, I'm off to get some food. See ya."

He heard shuffling behind followed by hurried footsteps and then Aomine was walking next to him. 

"Where are you going?"

"Maji."

"Then I'll go with you."

Kagami was too hungry to protest so he only shrugged his shoulders with a small 'whatever' and kept walking. His eyes widened for a brief second when he thought of a way to take advantage of the situation. He turned to the side and looked at Aomine with a smirk.

"I'll let you come with if you pay."

The bluenette snorted.

"You'll _let_ me? I don't need your permission."

"Then I won't go anywhere with you."

"Tsk, why are you okay with me paying now? On our date you hated it."

The redhead's smirk widened.

"Because this time it's on my terms. You lost so it makes sense that you pay for my lunch."

 _'Pfft. Angel my ass,'_ Aomine thought to himself while grinding his teeth. Kagami was acting way too smug right now. He'd show him. The next time they played he'd beat him for sure. At the thought of playing the redhead again he felt a spark of excitement in his chest and weird fluttering in his stomach. His eyes found themselves back on the other teen again.

The sly smirk Kagami wore pissed him off but at the same time...it was actually kinda cute.

Well, damn. What was a burger or two?

"Fine."

Kagami's face brightened.

"Great!"

One or two burgers later proved to be twenty. 

Aomine was amazed, and a bit freaked out, as he watched Kagami wolf down one burger after the other without pause. Sure the redhead had ordered a lot of food on their date, but Aomine knew that had just been an act. He didn't know that Kagami actually had such a huge appetite.

Suddenly aware of the attention, Kagami looked up as he chewed and met Aomine with a brow raised questioningly.

"What?"

The bluenette shook his head.

"You sure can eat a lot."

"Yeah I hear that often. Don't see why though; this is a normal ammount."

Aomine's eyes traveled downwards to the mountain of burgers on the other's tray. How was that _normal_?

"I wonder where all of it goes," he muttered and slumped back in his seat. He'd finished his food a while ago.

Kagami rolled his eyes and went back to eating.

The rest of their visit to Maji were spent in silence. Aomine was looking out the window and Kagami focused on finishing his food.

When they parted ways later Kagami caught himself thinking that spending time with Aomine today hadn't been so bad. Playing basketball with him had been fun and he actually looked forward to next time.

Aomine was having similar thoughts. As he waited for his driver to pick him up he desperately tried to hide the no doubt stupid-looking smile that stubbornly spread across his lips.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, after months of writer's block I managed to finish this chapter.
> 
> ...I'm a bit embarrassed to be honest xD


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty, chapter 12. To think that I've actually made it this far.... it's all thanks to you guys for encouraging and supporting me, so thank you <3

 

Aomine showed up again the next day. And the next...and the next. From Monday to Friday they went to play basketball for a few hours, the loser would pay for lunch at Maji and then they'd part about half way back to Kagami's apartment. It became their routine for that week; thankfully Aomine had the decency to come a bit later than nine in the morning, giving Kagami the chance to wake up properly and eat some breakfast.

Aomine didn't know why he kept coming back to Kagami for basketball. Why had he even showed up on his doorstep demanding a rematch in the first place?

Okay that was a lie. He knew exactly why he sought the redhead out.

Because playing against him was _fun_. And that's a word he rarely used.

When he lost that time a few weeks ago he'd felt many things; shock, frustration, confusion but most of all  _relief_ . Relief like no other had crashed into him as he realized that someone who wasn't him had actually beaten him at basketball. Twice. Sure loosing sucked and he certainly wasn't used to it, but at the same time it had felt so  _good_ . When Kagami said goodbye Aomine hadn't responded because he simply hadn't been able to at that moment, too caught up in what was going on in his head.

He had even _smiled_ while watching the redhead leave and when he had disappeared out of his sight completely that smile had soon broken out into laughter. Loud, hysterical laughter of the strong relief he felt. If people saw him they probably would've thought he was crazy but at the time he really wouldn't have cared.

He was _happy._

His defeat was proof that he wasn't the monster other players had made him out to be. Or maybe he was, but at least not the only one. Kagami was a monster too.

He'd finally found someone whom he could go all out against and still lose, someone who wasn't afraid of him and most importantly, someone who wouldn't give up. Never would he have thought that it was Kagami of all people. If someone had told him that a few weeks ago, Aomine would have laughed his ass off.

When he eventually got back home that evening, he went to soak in the bath for nearly two hours and all he could think about was Kagami and the rare friendly look on his face when he'd spoken those wonderful words.

_'I'll play you whenever you want.'_

How could he possibly have stayed away?

No matter how much his pride urged him to forget about it, he wanted to feel that exciting rush again. He hadn't felt it in such a long time.

What he hadn't expected though was how nervous he'd been when he stopped outside Kagami's apartment. It was still early and the idiot probably hadn't woken up yet. Would he seem too desperate? Would Kagami laugh at him? What if the redhead hadn't been serious about playing him again?

He wasn't used to these insecurities. He shouldn't even have them in the first place. But they lingered no matter how many times he told himself to get a grip. So he had been forced to try hiding it best he could and hope that the red-haired teen wouldn't notice. If he did he hadn't said anything about it, thankfully.

It had been so worth it in the end. 

And of course, seeing the redhead sweaty and panting, cheeks flushed with exhaustion was a nice bonus. Next time he would make sure to get in a few good gropes of that perfect-looking ass; an ass he could've had a long time ago had it not been for the stubborn attitude Kagami kept clinging on to. 

That didn't mean that he was letting Kagami get away though. He wanted the redhead more than ever now and he _would_ get him. It was just taking a bit longer than usual this time. But this thing they had going on, with basketball, had opened up new opportunities for him.

He would use this to get closer to the red-haired teen. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

After several one-on-ones on Friday afternoon, one their way to Maji, Kagami had gone against his common sense and invited Aomine over to his place for lunch. Something he had promised himself to never do. 

Aomine had won today which meant that Kagami was paying. Not that the bluenette hadn't won before during these past few days, but Aomine always ordered Teriyaki burgers and they were more expensive than the regular cheeseburgers Kagami liked to eat. And while Aomine's appetite wasn't nearly as big as his, the blue haired teen could still eat quite a lot.

He released a deep sigh and mumbled something about rich bastards that should pay for themselves. Aomine sniggered and threw an arm around the brooding redhead's shoulders.

“Come on don't be bitter, Kagami. You did pretty good...just not as good as _me_.”

“Oh shut up,” Kagami replied but his voice lacked heat. He was just a teensy bit disappointed about the fact that he wouldn't get any free food today.

And since they always rubbed their victories in each others' faces it wasn't a big deal. The fact that he'd won yesterday was a small comfort as well.

It had come to his attention that this unexpected routine of theirs could cause a serious problem. At least on Kagami's part. Now don't get him wrong, he loved Maji's burgers, he really did, but if they kept eating there every day there was the risk of him getting tired of it and god forbid that ever happening. He wouldn't be able to handle such a tragedy.

“Hey Aomine, let's not go to Maji today.”

“ _You_ don't wanna eat burgers? Are you feeling alright?” Aomine asked in mock worry and placed a hand on the other's forehead as if to check for a fever. Kagami growled and batted the hand away. 

“I just don't feel like it today.”

“Even if we don't go there I'm not letting you off the hook. I still won.”

“I know. I was thinking that maybe we could...have lunch at my place.” He couldn't believe what he was saying. Inviting Aomine over? He had promised himself to never do that, especially after the bluenette's constant nagging about the matter. They were just playing basketball together, not friends so really there wasn't any reason why he should. But a home cooked meal sounded pretty good and besides, making lunch at home from his own groceries was cheaper than Maji. He had lost so he couldn't get away from the agreement either.

Aomine gave him a surprised look.

“You're seriously letting me inside your apartment?”

During this week he had made several attempts at convincing Kagami to do just that but without any success. He was curious about how the red-haired teen lived. What he wanted to see the most though was the bedroom...

“It's only for lunch so don't get too excited. When you're done eating you leave.”

Well, it was a start at least.

“Alright, I won't complain as long as I get food.” As an afterthought he added, “wait, you cook?”

“Yeah and I'm really good at it. Didn't you know?”

Aomine shook his head.

“Hmph, thought for sure Kise had told you that.”

“He didn't. Anyway, what are you gonna make me?”

“I was thinking curry or a stir fry of some kind.”

“I'm happy with either one.”

Wow, he was invited over to Kagami's place and would get to try his food on top of that? Kagami didn't look like the type who cooked but then again, the redhead had surprised him before so maybe he actually was good at it. He couldn't be worse than Satsuki at least.

 

* * *

 

Oh he was  _definitely_ better than Satsuki. In fact, Kagami's cooking rivaled that of the hired chefs at the Aomine household.

“Damn this is good!” Aomine exclaimed in amazement, a good amount of food still in his mouth. Kagami grimaced at the sight, nose scrunching up in disgust.

“Don't speak with your mouth full.”

Ignoring him, the bluenette continued to wolf down the curry and rice Kagami had made. Three big spoon fulls later he grabbed the plate and held it up towards his host.

“Seconds.”

The “please” that should've come afterwards was left out. Aomine didn't say the word very often; at home he got everything he wanted  _ whenever _ he wanted so he was pretty used to people doing what he told them to.

Kagami, on the other hand, didn't think so little of it. He had met rude people in the past but Aomine sure was an exceptional case even among them. What pissed him off wasn't really the demand itself, but rather the  _way_ Aomine had said it. It had come out as an order that the bluenette clearly expected Kagami to follow without question; like this was  _ Aomine's _ house and the redhead was his personal butler or something.

Taking another bite of his own food, the redhead looked up and gave a short nod towards the stove.

“The food is right over there. Help yourself.” And with that he turned his focus back to his plate.

Aomine blinked once, twice, processing the words that didn't match his expectations and then his face broke out into a scowl. Wasn't he a guest here? Obviously Kagami should serve him. Especially since he lost to him...

Oh what the hell, why did he even bother to be surprised at this point? 

“Tch, fine,” he said grumpily and got up from his seat. With strides that showed his frustration he went up to the stove and made himself another plate. While doing this he wore such a displeased expression that made it seem like forcing himself to make the little extra effort actually pained him. It was so amusing and downright hilarious that Kagami couldn't help but let a smug smile break out on his lips. A laugh almost escaped him when remembered the pout on the other's lips, but he managed to keep it to himself.

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence which Kagami sure didn't mind; pleasant words rarely came out of Aomine's mouth anyway.

A few minutes after they'd finished their food Aomine suddenly spoke up, however.

“Your apartment is too simple.”

He made himself comfortable on the couch while Kagami did the dishes.

“Yeah I like it simple,” the red-haired teen answered with a shrug.

The bluenette scoffed and with a roll of his eyes he muttered, “yeah, can't argue with that.”

Hearing this, Kagami turned to him with narrowed eyes.

“Oi what's that supposed to mean?”

“Don't take it personally. It's normal among you commoners.”

“And you wonder why I don't like you...”

Aomine ignored the comment and let his eyes survey the living room once more. He had gotten a chance to explore the apartment while the redhead was busy making lunch and honestly he was disappointed. The interior was ridiculously plain. That's not to say that Kagami's apartment wasn't nice, just...plain. Nothing special. Aomine almost felt betrayed; the redhead had been so insistent on not letting him inside which had created high expectations and curiosity in him. But he hadn't even found one single porn magazine...

And the bedroom he had looked so much forward to see wasn't anything special either. A single bed, desk, wardrobe and a nearly empty bookshelf. There were some posters hanging around here and there as well as a potted plant standing in one corner of the room. But that was it.

Distracted by his own memories of disappointment Aomine didn't notice that Kagami was done with the dishes so when the other suddenly spoke, standing right in front of him, the bluenette jumped in his seat.

“Get off my couch. You were supposed to leave after lunch, remember?”

“Come on, since I'm here I might as well stay for a bit,” he tried with a charming smile that most would find irresistible. The blank, unimpressed look on the other's face however was enough to make him understand that his attempt had failed.

Before Kagami could open his mouth to speak, Aomine got up from the couch with a reluctant sigh.

“I'll just go before it starts raining. See you later.”

It was indeed cloudy outside...

As he passed the redhead he made sure to look as disappointed and hurt as he possibly could; the expression soon changed into a sly grin when he heard Kagami speak up behind him.

“Fine, stay for a bit. But-”

“Great!”

And once again Aomine spread himself out on the couch, feet resting on the wooden coffee table and Tv remote clutched in his right hand.

“Oi, Kagami, get me something to drink.”

…

“Get out!!”

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aomine is playing nice(er) for now, using their daily basketball get-togethers to get close to Kagami, befriend him and eventually get into his pants. Will he be able to do that though?


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS!!!
> 
> Ok I want to apologize before hand for this terrble, horrible chapter. I am experiencing a serious case of writer's block and on top of that university is killing me. I've been away from this story so long and it was so difficult to get back into it. So yeah, this piece of crap is the only way for me to get back to the story. Sometimes you gotta write and post bad chapters in order to over come that block and make better ones xD

 

The day before the departure for training camp Kagami was asked by Kise to hang out with him and Kuroko for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Having already packed and tidied his apartment, the redhead was free for the rest of the day and had gladly accepted the invitation.

They had decided to meet at one of Kise's favorite cafés. It was a nice place; a bit pricey but Kise was paying so Kagami didn't complain. He was a little envious of the blonde; his part time job as a model seemed to be well paying, at least by student standards, and he briefly played with the thought of getting himself a part time job of his own. Not as a model, even if Kise had suggested it, but maybe something that involved cooking. If he worked at Maji he would probably get discounts or even free burgers. That certainly was a thought he would save for later.

“Training camp for you tomorrow then, Kagamicchi.”

“Yeah. I'm really looking forward to it.”

“Hmm. You just got back from L.A and now you're leaving again. I'm gonna miss you,” Kise said and brought his cup of cappuccino to his lips. Then after taking a sip of his drink he added as an afterthought, “not that you've spent much time with me since you got back anyway.” There was a pout on his lips as he spoke, making Kagami roll his eyes.

“I went shopping with you on Wednesday, didn't I?”

The blonde shook his head stubbornly.

“Only for two hours. I wanted us to hang out the whole afternoon but you were too tired....”

Kagami sighed. Despite having known Kise for several months now, he still hadn't gotten used to the blonde's constant craving for attention. It could get quite overwhelming sometimes.

Kuroko, who had so far been quiet, suddenly spoke up with his usual all-knowing voice.

“That's because Kagami-kun played basketball with Aomine-kun earlier that day.”

The blue haired teen casually sipped on his milkshake and closed his eyes for a brief second to savor the delicious taste of vanilla. Kagami nearly choked on his smoothie the instant he heard his rival's name, eyes going wide, and Kise almost dropped his fork.

Before anyone could say anything Kuroko gently set his cup down and continued.

“In fact, they have been spending a lot of time together recently.”

Kagami was at a loss. How did his friend even know that? He hadn't mentioned his daily one-on-ones with the bluenette to anyone. At least not that he could remember. And of course, by Kuroko revealing this, he knew that he was in for an interrogation from Kise and that was something he really could live without.

Said blonde drew a dramatically shocked gasp.

“Whaaat? Are you dating?”

“Hell no! We're just playing basketball,” the redhead was quick to defend. He knew the blonde would come to that sort of conclusion, which is why he had kept his mouth shut about it all in the first place. He didn't want to go though the trouble of clearing up misunderstandings like these.

“And have lunch together,” Kuroko added with a knowing look on his face. But as calm and indifferent as he appeared there was a slight accusatory look in his eyes. Was he actually mad at Kagami for not telling him himself?

“How do you even know this?”

“I saw the two of you at Maji the other day. And I've seen you at the park court several times.”

While Kuroko didn't live that far away from Kagami, the park was still a good fifteen minute walk from where he lived. Why did he even go there in the first place?

As if reading his thoughts Kuroko elaborated.

“I usually go there with Nigou when I have the time.”

“Oh...I see,” he replied sheepishly, feeling slightly dumb.

“But I thought you hated Aominecchi.”

“I do! I mean, I don't like him but he showed up at my place asking for a match and I couldn't turn him down. Playing against him was kinda fun so we ended up doing it every morning. But that's all there is to it so don't get any ideas, Kise.”

“And what about the two of you at Maji?”

“We came up with a penalty; the loser treats the winner to burgers.”

A look of disappointment crossed Kise's face and he slumped back in his chair.

"So it was only basketball and burgers...that's so typical of you, Kagamicchi. How boring."

And Kuroko had the nerve to nod in agreement. While annoyed, the red haired teen was relieved that his two friends had accepted his explanation so easily and not made too big of a deal of it.

Sure he had spent time with Aomine, yes he had actually enjoyed their one-on-ones and he'd grown to actually _tolerate_ the bluenette's existence but there was no way in hell that he liked the jerk in any way.

 

* * *

  
Everyone was surprised when Aomine stepped out of his fancy car and with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder crossed the parking lot, making his way up to the bus everyone had gathered around. No one had expected it because the bluenette had made it clear that he wasn't attending _and_ they were leaving in about five minutes.

Momoi was the first to recover from the shock and greeted him cheerfully.

“Dai-chan, I didn't think you were coming!”

“I changed my mind,” he replied nonchalantly and stuck a pinky into one of his ears. His eyes then suddenly lit up when they landed on Kagami and he smirked, not wasting any time in making his way up to the redhead. As he passed Sakurai in the process he shoved his bag into the brunette's arms without even sparing him a single glance.

“Carry it for me.”

And of course the stammering boy did so without question. Momoi wanted to protest but she knew that whatever she said would only fall on deaf ears. She offered Sakurai to help but was politely declined.

“Yo, Kagami.”

The red haired teen tilted his head to the side and let out a playful huff.

“So you decided to show up. I thought for sure you were gonna chicken out.”

Ah there it was; that cocky smile Aomine had grown to like so much. Really, it was ridiculous how undeniably sexy that look was. And the challenging back talk that Aomine would have found annoying a few months ago was now instead rather endearing.

“Hmph, it had nothing to do with that. I just happened to be bored and decided to tag along. It's not like I expect anything from it. I'm counting on you to keep me entertained, okay?”

Kagami laughed, seeing through the act but deciding to play along.

“Sure I'll entertain you. If you can handle it, that is.”

Grin now mirroring his rival's, Aomine released a small chuckle.

"You're on."

Behind them Wakamatsu and Imayoshi watched them in amazement.

"Are they actually having a friendly conversation?" The Touou centre asked in hope that he wasn't the only seeing this. Thankfully it seemed that he wasn't going crazy because his captain confirmed that the strange sight was in fact real.

"Well, _friendly_ might be an overstatement but I hear ya..."

Kagami was actually tolerating Aomine today. But what was even more strange was the fact that Aomine was there in the first place. The coach had even given him permission to skip camp and like previously mentioned, the bluenette had said himself that he wasn't attending. Being bored couldn't be the only reason for his change of heart, Imayoshi reckoned. So, what was it?

When they got on the buss five minutes later Kagami took the window seat on the very front row and much to Aomine's annoyance, Himuro was quick to take the seat next to him before the bluenette had a chance to. The only reason he even attended this stupid training camp was for him to spend time with the redhead. He wouldn't be able to play basketball with him for a whole week if he didn't go and he couldn't stand that thought. Okay...maybe he wanted to improve his basketball skills a _tiny_ bit as well; he couldn't just sit by and do nothing while Kagami improved after all. But that pretty-boy third year could be a problem. He seemed awfully close to Kagami and the two would probably stick together during these upcoming five days.

How bothersome.

While Kagami was oblivious to his displeased glare, happily chatting away, Himuro noticed and returned the dark look for a brief second. Aomine's eyes widened and he hurriedly averted his eyes elsewhere.

“Tch.”

What was his problem anyway?

When the bus finally started up and rolled out of the parking lot, Aomine slumped back in his seat and closed his eyes. Three hours was a long time and the trip would undoubtedly be a boring one. If he'd sat next to Kagami things would have been different but alas, that was not the case so the best way to pass the time he figured would be to sleep. Hopefully the noisy bunch of the team at least had enough braincells to understand that and would keep their traps shut. He made himself comfortable in his seat and tuned out the sounds around him; it didn't take long before he began to doze off.

About an hour and a half later, however, he was startled awake by the bus hitting a large bump on the road. Aomine jumped in his seat and his eyes snapped open. Releasing an annoyed growl for having his sleep interrupted he turned to look out the window. The scenery was different now; gone were the high buildings, concrete and crowded streets. Instead what greeted him were plain fields, trees and the vague signs of an upcoming rocky mountain terrain.

Some rustling next to him caught his attention and he slowly turned his gaze away from the window to see what it was.

Since he hadn't been able to sit next to Kagami like he'd wanted he had settled for Sakurai instead. It would be convenient to have the smaller boy by his side; if he wanted anything he didn't have to raise his voice or turn around. His childhood friend was taking out a bento from his bag. Knowing Sakurai, the food inside was very likely delicious and it made Aomine realize that he was starting to get a little hungry himself.

“Oi Ryou, where is mine?“ he asked and pointed at the box.

“Eh?”

“You did make one for me, didn't you?”

“N-no, I didn't think you were coming so I-I only made one...I'm sorry!”

“Then give that one to me.” While saying this, Aomine gave a casual shrug of his shoulders as if it was the most obvious thing for the other to do.

“But-”

When those dark blue eyes narrowed at him Sakurai closed his mouth and nodded obediently.

“Yes.”

“Oi, Aomine, you should've brought your own food.”

Oh right, Kagami was sitting in he front as well. How nice that the redhead paid him some attention even with Himuro there. With a playful hum he threw one of his arms around Sakurai's shoulders.

“Ryou doesn't mind. Right?”

Sakurai hesitantly looked at Kagami, the redhead silently encouraging him to stand up to the bluenette. The hesitation was quite short lived though as his feelings for his childhood friend made the decision for him.

“N-no I don't mind.” He knew he had promised Kagami that he would start to speak up to Aomine but he wasn't quite ready yet.

With a satisfied smirk Aomine gave Kagami a look that said “I told you so” before turning his attention back to the bento in the other's hands.

He didn't quite understand why Kagami was so concerned about Sakurai in the first place. Where they that close? Sakurai had made him lunch that one time as a favor but surely it didn't mean anything. Kagami seemed to get a long with most people on their team so it probably wasn't anything to worry about. Even if Sakurai did show some light affection towards Kagami, nothing indicated that the redhead returned it. Plus, the brunette couldn't be so stupid as to pursue the redhead after Aomine's warning.

With a sigh, Kagami dug through his own bag and took out a box of his own, holding it up towards the bluenette.

"If you're gonna leech off on someone then have one of mine instead. I made two so it's fine."  One wouldn't be enough to fully satisfy his hunger but if it meant that Sakurai could keep his own food then he could deal with it. He knew it would take time for the brunette to learn how to say no so he had to help him somehow.

Aomine looked at the bento offered to him with wide eyes. He hadn't expected this at all. Not that he was complaining or anything; in fact, he was thrilled.

_'Kagami's home made lunch. Sweet.'_

Yes, he had learned how to make bentos now. A few days before training camp after his daily one on one with Aomine, he had been given a private lesson on some bento recipes from Sakurai. The smaller boy had been nervous at first, having never been to Kagami's place before and no doubt feeling insecure about his cooking skills in someone else's kitchen, but it soon wore off once he actually started cooking. Sakurai was a different person when he worked in the kitchen; he was focused and confident, not showing any signs of the usual nervous wreck many knew him to be. It was only when Kagami had stepped closer to get a better look at what he was doing, their shoulders brushing, that Sakurai tensed for a moment and forgot about his current task. With the redhead so close he could feel the heat radiating from him and the pleasant scent of Kagami's body wash mixed with his own unique musk. But he soon collected himself and tried best he could to get back to the tamago* he was teaching the other to make. He wasn't allowed to think of Kagami that way. Being in the other's apartment was risky enough and if Aomine found out he'd be yelled at again, hence why he had asked Kagami to keep their meet up a secret.

_'Don't get too close to him. He's mine, understand?'_ _ He remembered the warning clearly.  _

Kagami was a fast learner and had quickly managed to make the recipes flawlessly on his first tries. So Sakurai wasn't surprised when Kagami suddenly took out a bento.

"Sure I'll take it, " Aomine muttered, still a bit dumbfounded by the sudden offer, but when he took the bento into his hands a smirk stretched out on his lips and he added, "hey, won't you feed me?"

That was a nice image, the bluenette thought. Kagami sitting in his lap feeding him his home made lunch, telling him to open wide.

“Want another black eye?” The redhead countered, voice both threatening and playful at the same time. His eyes narrowed in challenge as they bore into Aomine's dark ones. The bluenette scoffed and with a shake of his head as his reply sat back in his seat. He wasn't as amused as Kagami seemed to be; that black eye had taken a long time to heal and the punch itself had been no joke.

But he let it slide since there were other matters to see to at the moment. Like the home made lunch made by Kagami. Aomine knew first hand how great a cook the redhead was and couldn't wait to try some.

He opened the lid and was very pleased with what he was greeted with. Onigiri*, tamago *, octopus sausages and some vegetables. Classic. Ryou had made him bentos just like this many times. But somehow Aomine had a feeling he'd like Kagami's more.

And he sure did. The first bite was like an explosion in his mouth. Not the bad kind, but an explosion of rich, tasty flavors. It was almost enough to give him a boner, but only almost. His inner euphoria must've showed on his face because he heard a light snigger.

“I take it you like the food.”

“Yeah, it's delicious,” Aomine replied, not bothering to deny it. The fact that Kagami was better than him at something was annoying, sure, but he could live with it because it was cooking. Now he just had to convince his rival to make him lunch for school every day...

After wolfing down his lunch Aomine went back to sleep and didn't suffer any unwanted interruptions this time. Sakurai carefully woke him up once they arrived at the location for their training camp; a fairly large inn in the mountains. It was the same place they had been to last year, not that Aomine had attended, and it even had a gym and an outdoor basketball court.

Aomine scowled as he studied the place. To think that he was actually going to spend a whole week in such a dump, not to mention sleep in there. Okay, perhaps he was over exaggerating a bit. It could've be worse, but compared to what he was used to it wasn't very impressive. He was already missing home. 

"It's only a week..." he told himself, "only a week."

Releasing a deep sigh he let his eyes slide off the building and began searching for the reason for him being there in the first place, namely Kagami, and frowned when he found him laughing with Himuro. This wouldn't do. Kagami was his entertainment during this trip; he couldn't spend all his time with that annoyingly good-looking third year.

He had to do something about it.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are slowly progressing and it will keep progressing more and more from here on. (The smut is still chapters away and I'm worried cause that shit is hard to write xD ) The end is rushes as f*ck but i just wanted to get it done
> 
> Peace out <3


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, I managed to post something before my christmas break ended. The next chapter is about halfway done so hopefully it won't take too long. ("Hopefully" being the key word here) Hope you all had a great christmas and soon it's a new year, let's hope it won't be as shitty as this one, ne? :D
> 
> And as always, thank you so much for commenting, giving kudos and even you who take the time reading this without dong neither, thank you too <3

“Kagami, come on, wake up.”

Kagami groaned, a light sound of protest in the otherwise quiet room, and turned on his futon so that his back faced the source of his displeasure.

“Oi, wake up,” the voice said again, this time more impatiently and its owner gave Kagami a rather forceful shove.

Releasing a deep sigh the red haired teen slowly blinked his eyes open and peeked over his shoulder, sending a glare at whoever had seen if fit to wake him.

It was Aomine.

Of course it was. Who else would it be if not him?

“What?” He asked, the question coming out as an irritated hiss. Aomine didn't seem affected by his foul mood or deadly stare and with an eager look on his face simply replied, “let's play one-on-one.”

Kagami blinked, dumbfounded for a second before his frown returned. Rolling over on his side he picked up his phone to check the time and nearly groaned once again.

“It's 5 am Aomine...” Seriously, why was Aomine always so insistent on waking him up at such bad times? The guy was lazy, couldn't even attend practice without some major... _encouragement_ but playing basketball five in the morning was no problem? Unbelievable!

“This isn't even your room,” Kagami said as the realization hit him. Was the other really that desperate that he snuck out of his room and risk getting caught? Their coach as well as the inn keeper had made it clear that they wouldn't accept such behavior.

The bluenette sighed.

“No shit. I went through a lot of trouble sneaking in here.”

“...”

“Come on,” he pressed almost desperately when Kagami didn't answer, “ it will be a great warm up. If you go back to sleep you'll only have one more hour anyway before you gotta wake up. Besides, I know you want to play too. You're a basketball idiot.”

His dark blue eyes narrowed when Kagami scoffed and lay his head back down on his pillow.

“You'd be surprised. Now get lost and let me sleep.”

Aomine's shoulders slumped with disappointment. He wanted to play _now,_ needed his dose of exhilarating one-on-one with the redhead. If they didn't do it now, there wouldn't be any time to do it later because by the end of the day they would probably be too tired due to practice. If he was to get it there was only one option left. He bit his lower lip, needing a moment to prepare himself for what he was about to do.

“ _Please_?” He managed to grind out. It was near painful to utter the word.

Kagami had just closed his eyes only to have them snap back open again when he heard the phrase that rarely left the other boy's mouth. With a look of disbelief he turned to face Aomine who sported a serious look. After a brief moment of inner debate Kagami gave in with a sigh.

“Fine.”

It's not like he really was against the idea of playing against Aomine; that was never boring, just...he'd rather not do it so early in the morning. And then there was that part of him that didn't want to give the bluenette what he wanted. But he was awake now and like his rival had said earlier, even if he fell back asleep he would get less than an hour before they all had to wake up for breakfast. Plus, how could he refuse when Aomine asked so nicely?

It was still pretty dark outside but not pitch black due to the sky slowly beginning to lighten into soft blues, pink and yellows. It was quiet and still, the only sound coming from crickets and the early birds.

Kagami and Aomine went to the outside basketball court; Aomine had brought his ball with him.

“You start,” he said and threw said object to Kagami who caught it with ease.

Despite the early time and having just woken up, the two got into the game quickly and it didn't take long until they went all out. As always their game was intense, charged with energy, power and sheer excitement. There were practically sparks flying between them as they played.

In these moments, whenever he played against Kagami, Aomine felt so at ease and-for a lack of better word- _happy_. So happy that he didn't know what to do with himself. To be invincible for so long and then suddenly being forced to work hard in order to win had been such a drastic change for him and he'd nearly forgotten what it felt like. To be able to feel it again was truly a blessing. And he had Kagami to thank for that; it was sappy and honestly just a tad annoying to admit, but the redhead had made basketball...fun again. Even if it was just Kagami that could make him feel that rush with, it was better than not feeling anything at all. And he had become addicted to that feeling.

About forty five minutes later they decided to call it quits. They couldn't afford to be too exhausted before practice even started; they had a whole day ahead of them after all. It was just like Aomine had said earlier, their game had proven to be a great warm up. They sat down on the ground to catch their breath for a moment, both in need of a shower.

Speaking of which...

“Yo, Kagami, we still got some time so how about taking a nice, hot shower together?” Aomine purred and with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows leaned in closer to the redhead.

Kagami simply rolled his eyes and pushed his rival away with a scoff, much to the bluenette's surprise.

“Keep dreaming.”

“It will come true one day. Just you wait.”

“Yeah, and you keep tell yourself that.”

A minute of comfortable silence passed; the sun was visible now as it was slowly starting to rise, peeking up from behind the mountain tops. It was a nice picture, Kagami thought.

“Kagami...”

“Yeah?”

“I won.”

“Shut up. I'll win next time.”

A small chuckle left the bluenette at the declaration.

“I'm looking forward to it.” He really was. He knew that Kagami could very well win next time and that was what made it so exciting; to not know the outcome of a game.

Kagami stood up and brushed some dirt off his shorts before making his way back to the inn, Aomine following behind.

It really was too bad that they weren't sharing the same room. Kagami was bunking with Himuro and Takao while Aomine had booked a room of his own. Well, his parents had done the booking on his request but whatever. If he was going on a trip to the mountains then at least he wanted to live comfortably. No way was he sharing a smaller space with his teammates... Kagami being an exception of course. He wondered for a brief moment what his rival would say if he invited him to stay the night in his room...

_'He'd hit me, probably.'_

Or would he? Kagami wasn't nearly as aggressive as he used to be which meant that Aomine was doing _something_ right at least. Still, it probably wasn't worth the risk...

The memory of a certain punch to the face flashed before him and he shuddered.

_'Yeah, definitely not worth it'_

When they got back inside Kagami went to take a quick shower, without Aomine who used the shower in his own room. It was bigger than the others and a bit fancier. As fancy as can be in an average mountain inn anyway.

As he stood under the hot spray of water he moved one of his hands down to grab his cock, stroking it into hardness while imagining his hotheaded rival on his knees in front of him, eager to take him into his mouth.

Oh how lewd he would look with his red eyes glassed over, a dark blush staining his cheeks and drool dripping from his mouth as he sucked Aomine off like it was his favorite thing in the world. Aomine liked to believe that Kagami was a just as much of a glutton in the sex department as he was when it came to food.

He came hard with a guttural groan at a particularly arousing image and supported himself against the tiled wall on one arm to catch his breath. This was certainly not the first time he had jerked off while fantasizing about the redhead. In fact, it was the _only_ thing he ever thought about whenever he pleasured himself and probably wouldn't stop doing it anytime soon. It was difficult to get off to the thought of something else at this point.

Damn he wanted Kagami more than ever.

He leaned away from the wall so that he stood directly under the shower head again, letting the water cleanse him before turning it off. He dried himself off with a towel and after dressing himself left his room to meet up with the team for some breakfast.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little chapter about Kagami and Aomine not being at each other's throats and acting kind of civil. A small progress, but progress nonetheless. 
> 
> Peace out <3


	15. Chapter 15

 

  
On the last day of summer vacation Kagami had decided to stay at home all day and rest. Gods know he needed it. Not only had the training menu from coach been hellish for those two whole weeks at camp, but then there was also the daily one-on-ones with Aomine every morning at 5:30.

But not today. He wanted to enjoy his last day of freedom before all the school work and basketball practice came pouring down on him again. He was only leaving his house to buy some food for dinner and that was it.

After waking up at eleven he had something to eat, took a shower and watched TV. It was nice to relax for once; he hadn't spent that much time at home during the break. Not that he regretted going to L.A, it had helped him beat Aomine after all and he'd had a good time hanging out with his dad and some old friends, but he needed some time to himself. Some peace and quiet.

It wasn't until the clock struck four thirty in the evening that he decided to go to the grocery store. As usual he took a shortcut through the park where he usually played basketball; he wasn't going to play today though, but when he passed it, he caught something in the corner of his eyes. By reflex he turned to see what- or who it was- and froze in his tracks when it turned out to be Aomine.

Thanks to Momoi he now knew that his blue haired rival in fact lived rather far away from him. So what was he doing all the way out here? If he wanted to play he should have brought a ball with him or come to Kagami's house first. But Aomine was just sitting on one of the benches with his head buried in his hands. Was he crying? Shit, Kagami hoped not. Not only was he shit at comforting people, but he was not mentally prepared for a crying Aomine. He just couldn't imagine the bluenette cry. What was he supposed to say? Would Aomine get angry at him for bothering him?

 _'I should just leave him'_ he thought to himself and took a few steps forward but soon slowed down to a halt again.

He couldn't do that. He had to talk to him. Besides, it looked like it was going to rain pretty soon.

Fuck, since when did he _care_ about the jerk?

Taking a deep breath the redhead entered the court and approached the other who didn't seem to notice him at all. It wasn't until Kagami came to a stop just in front of him that he lifted his head. Aomine's blue eyes widened slightly at the sight of him and opened his mouth to speak but Kagami beat him to it.

“Hey.”

“H-hey...”

“What the fuck are you doing here? Looking like that, on top of it.”

“Tsk shut up.” The words lacked bite and Aomine slumped back into a slouch. He looked tired.

“You wanna talk about it?” Kagami said and scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward. He wasn't friendly enough with Aomine to be able to comfort him. Not like he'd ever thought that his class mate would ever need it.

“Not really. I just needed to get away for a while. Some relatives are visiting and they're pissing me off."

There was more to it than that, Kagami could tell, but he wouldn't pry.

“So you decided to come here of all places?”

Aomine shrugged.

“Yeah.”

He wasn't looking at Kagami, eyes a bit dull and it was freaking the redhead out. This wasn't Aomine. But he couldn't help but feel sorry for him; something bad had obviously happened.

“Do you wanna...have dinner at my place? I'm on my way to the grocery store so you'll have to do some carrying.”

Almost instantly Aomine's face lit up and it stunned Kagami for a second. It was a genuine expression free from any teasing or the usual arrogance. The only time he ever saw a similar reaction was when they played basketball sometimes but it was different. Right now Aomine actually looked thankful.

“Sure.”

Well, there went his day of peace and quiet.

 

* * *

 

Aomine usually didn't go to the grocery store. In fact, he could count on one hand the times he'd visited one. His family had professional chefs at home that took care of such things. Every now and then he'd go to a convenient store for ice cream and other small stuff like that but shopping actual food for dinner with someone at an actual grocery store was new to him.

He glanced at Kagami who was standing by the meat section, comparing the prices with a thoughtful expression on his face. He looked really into it.

 _'He'd make a good housewife,'_ Aomine thought to himself with a quiet snigger. If he said that to Kagami though he'd probably get his ass beat.

It seemed like the redhead would be occupied for a while and since Aomine wasn't exactly an expert on these matters he decided to leave him to it and walk around the store and browse the different aisles instead.

About ten minutes later Kagami put the last ingredient he needed into the cart.

“All right I think that's everything. Oi, Aomi-” when Kagami turned around the bluenette was no where to be seen. Wait, how long had he been gone? Hadn't Aomine been standing behind him all this time?

“He's probably lost...”

Tsk, how bothersome. Where did he go?

“Kagami!”

Turning around Kagami was met by the one he was looking for and was about to scold him but before he could speak Aomine began.

“I found some really good stuff. Look, if you buy two of these you get one for free!” He beamed excitedly and held up a chocolate bar. He looked like a child on christmas and for some reason Kagami suddenly felt a fluttering in his stomach. Then his red eyes landed on the mountain of food in a cart standing behind Aomine and instantly widened with disbelief.

“Don't tell me you're buying all that.”

“Of course I am! I mean, look at all these cheap prices. How can I not buy them? Hey, think they have a good price on teriyaki sauce?”

Had Aomine always been so easily impressed? Or was it just in this case? He never seemed to care about anything.

“Wait. Where are you gonna keep it all, huh? How are you going to get all that food home?”

“We're having it for dinner of course. You're cooking this. And you eat a lot anyway so there's no problem.”

“But it's going to take a long time to cook all that.”

Aomine's smile widened.

“No worries, I'll just stay the night.”

Kagami sighed but didn't protest. He'd decided to cheer Aomine up after all. And he didn't really mind; it was actually nice with some company every now and then. The thought made him scoff.

To think that he was on such good terms with Aomine now when a few months ago he'd hated the guy's guts. The bluenette was surprisingly a decent person once you go to know him. Still a spoiled and arrogant jerk, but still. He was going to lock the door to his room though; he still didn't trust the other when it came to such things yet.

Getting home was tricky. Because Aomine had been so insistent on buying all that food and unnecessary stuff they had to carry six bags by themselves.

“Why the hell did you have to buy so much?”

“Because it was cheap,” Aomine deadpanned and adjusted one of the plastic bags hanging from his shoulder.

“It's not cheap. It's normal...at least for us commoners.”

“Exactly. Speaking of which, how can you afford living by yourself? You don't have a part time job, right?”

“My dad pays for the apartment and gives me an allowance every month to get the stuff I need.”

“So...are you actually rich or something?”

“I'm not rich...just not exactly poor.”

Aomine hummed thoughtfully.

“Why doesn't your dad live here, then?”

“He was supposed to but something came up at his work; some new project they wanted him to help with. But he might come here next year.”

“I see,” was Aomine's simple reply. He was going to ask if living alone ever got boring or lonely but then stopped himself. Honestly, it was the same for him. Kind of. Even if he didn't live by himself, his parents were busy with work most of the time. Sometimes he didn't see them for days, sometimes weeks. There were still maids and butlers running around in the big house but even then it felt empty. He was used to it now, but when he was younger he often felt lonely and sometimes even scared. Being left alone with people that weren't his parents, people he barely knew. Sure he'd had nannies taking care of him but that wasn't the same thing as having his mother or father tucking him in or reading bed time stories at night.

His parents would make up for their absence with presents but after a while even that got old. Aomine got used to it, having learned to never expect anything from them, and eventually he stopped caring.

Despite the fact that he was rich, Aomine had at that time had difficulty making friends. It might have had something to do with his spoiled and superior attitude, but Aomine hadn't realized that himself because of his young age. He didn't realize that the way he treated others was a bad thing; his parents and nannies had always told him how special he was and he had always gotten what he wanted. So when the other kids got angry or annoyed at him he didn't understand.

But he'd had Momoi and Sakurai which was enough for him.

When they finally reached Kagami's place the redhead didn't waste any time and began making the several dishes they'd have for dinner. It was a lot of food; even with Kagami's appetite there would most likely be a fair amount of left overs.

The whole apartment filled with delicious scents mixing together and it was enough to make Aomine drool a bit. After being a complete nuisance he was banned from the kitchen until dinner was ready. He pouted, although playfully, and moved to sit on the couch.

And then suddenly the doorbell rang.

“Aomine, can you get that? If it's a salesman or something like that just send them away.”

With a grunt Aomine got off the couch- just after he'd made himself comfortable- and made his way up to the door. When he was greeted by the person at the doorstep his face instantly morphed into his usual frown.

It was Himuro. The expression on his face didn't differ much from Aomine's as they stared at each other.

“The fuck are you doing here?” The bluenette asked rudely, not even bothering to hide his displeasure and dislike for the third year. Himuro, while annoyed, at least tried to put some effort into being civil.

“I could ask you the same thing. I'd like to speak to Taiga.”

“He's busy.”

“I'll just wait inside.”

“It's gonna take a while so don't bother.”

And with that Aomine slammed the door shut in Himuro's face. Why the hell was that guy here? Why did he have to come here now of all times? Did he come here often? Did he eat Kagami's food every time he visited? Did he sleep over sometimes?

“Who was it?” Kagami asked and appeared in the hall, wiping his hands on his apron. Shaking his head to rid himself of all the questions in his mind, he answered with a casual shrug.

“No one. Just a salesman.”

He was just about to herd the redhead back to the kitchen when the doorbell ran once more.

With his brows quirking into a questioning frown Kagami glanced at Aomine before passing him to opened the door. He missed the whispered curse from the bluenette behind him.

“Oh. Hey Tatsuya.”

_Tatsuya?_

Since when were those two on first name-terms?

“Hi Taiga. I'm not disturbing you, I hope,” he glanced at Aomine for a second before re-directing his eyes on the redhead, “Aomine said you were busy.”

Aomine wanted to protest when Kagami turned to give him a glare but decided against it. He wasn't going to bother defending himself when it concerned Himuro. He didn't feel bad for being rude to him anyway.

“Not at all. I'm just making dinner. In fact, it's good that you're here cause there's gonna be a LOT of food.”

Aomine tensed. Was Kagami really going to invite that guy inside to join them for dinner? The food HE'D bought for him and Kagami?

Yes he was...

“Come in,” the redhead chirped and stepped aside so that Himuro could enter. On his way inside the black haired boy lifted a plastic bag and waved it in front of Kagami.

“I brought some cake.”

Red eyes lit up and an excited smile appeared on the redhead's lips. Aomine saw it and his heart fluttered for a moment but it was short-lived as Himuro answered, the sound pissing him off to no end.

“Of course.”

Tsk. That guy was playing dirty. Bribing Kagami like that and buying his affection.

He was so not looking forward to this evening.

 

 


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go! It's time to try and get back to this story. I've been too occupied with the crazy ex one (and work, I admit. Being a grown up sucks that way). Get yourself together Makk! *slaps face* 
> 
> PS. The good thing about office work plus sitting in the corner of said office is that no one can see if you accidentally happen to write a little on your fics for a few minutes. (I am a good and responsible adult, mind you!.....)

 

Despite having had a shitty day, Kagami had managed to cheer him up. When the redhead offered him to join for dinner at his place, Aomine felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Even that cheap grocery store had made him forget about his troubles and helped to take away the stress. He had actually enjoyed himself.  From the start he hadn't planned to end up at the basketball court close to Kagami's house; he hadn't even realized where he was due to being so lost in thought. Only when his rival spoke up had he snapped out of it and become aware of his location.

He'd wondered for a brief moment if he'd unconsciously made his way there in hope that the other teen would show up and comfort him but quickly denied it. That was just ridiculous; there was no way his pride would allow that.

A few relatives on his father's side were visiting and since Aomine had been on training camp he hadn't known about it. It was only when he came back home the day before that he found out and to him, it wasn't exactly a pleasant surprise. He hated these visits and that morning when they'd all had breakfast together some things were said and Aomine hadn't been able to take it anymore. He stormed out of the house and just got as far away as he could. First by train and then by foot.

So yes, spending some time with Kagami, a normal person who didn't know about his troubles, had brightened his mood somewhat. That is, until Himuro showed up. He should've known that it was too good to be true; there was no way Kagami would agree to him staying the night without something bad happening.

“This is great, Taiga. I don't think I've ever had anything this good before,” the black haired third year said blissfully as he took another bite of his food. Aomine glared at him through the corner of his eyes, mad at him for praising the redhead's cooking before he could. And he didn't like the soft chuckle that spilled from Kagami in return.

“You've tried my cooking before though.”

“Yes but for some reason it tastes even better today,” Himuro replied with a subtle glance at Aomine who didn't miss it.

_'Asshole',_ the bluenette thought to himself and picked at his food. Don't get him wrong, it was delicious but he'd lost his appetite. All this negativity made him remember the argument with his family, making him feel down again. He was actually very tempted to leave. Perhaps Momoi would let him stay at her place for the night.

“Aomine, what's up? You don't like the food?”

Slowly raising his head he looked up at a slightly worried-looking Kagami. With a sigh he shook his head.

“No, it's good...”

Kagami frowned, not sure what caused Aomine's sudden drop in mood. He'd been fine at the supermarket and just before Himuro showed up. Sure the two of them didn't get along well but-

Oh.

Damn he felt stupid as he gave it some more thought.

Aomine had a bad day; something had happened at home that made him upset and Kagami wanted to cheer him up. But he was failing miserably, wasn't he? If he was in the bluenette's position, he wouldn't want to be around people, _especially_ people he didn't like and probably didn't like him in return. Aomine needed _him_ right now, someone who was willing to listen but wouldn't pry. Normality. Inviting Himuro inside was probably not a good idea. In fact, it had been a terrible idea and it probably made him appear insensitive. He just wished he'd considered that earlier.

“Hey Tatsuya, can I talk to you for a sec?” He asked about ten minutes later when he'd made sure that his upperclassman had finished his food.

“Sure.”

As they stood up, Aomine did too and looked at them with a tired look.

“Kagami, I think I'll go home now. Thanks for-”

“Stay.”

“But-”

“It wasn't a suggestion, Aomine. Sit down,” the red haired teen cut him off again and bore his stern eyes into surprised blue ones. Aomine looked like he wanted to protest but when Kagami's eyes narrowed even further he let out a sigh and sat back down. But he made sure that his expression showed the redhead how much he hated being bossed around.

Himuro watched the ordeal curiously, his brows furrowing into a slight scowl. With one last glance at the brooding bluenette he followed Kagami out into the hall.

“Hey uhm... I'm really sorry but I think it's best if you leave for now. Aomine is a bit down today; I think he had a fight with his family or something and I wanted to cheer him up a little. I don't think being around other people is gonna do him any good at the moment so...yeah. I'm really sorry, I should have told you earlier but I didn't think about it at that time.”

“It's ok, Taiga. Don't worry about it. I'm the one who showed up uninvited,” Himuro assured him with a smile. Really, Kagami was too kind sometimes. In his opinion Aomine didn't deserve that but he couldn't say no to his adorable underclassman when he said it like that.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Keep the cake; it was for you anyway.”

Kagami returned the smile with one of his own.

“Thanks. See you at school tomorrow.”

After saying their goodbyes Kagami went back to the kitchen. Aomine was still in his seat and looked up at him questioningly when he entered.

“What's up?”

“Tatsuya had to leave.”

It seemed as though Aomine's whole expression suddenly brightened a bit.

“Oh...”

“I'll do the dishes so just do what you want meanwhile.”

“I'm not finished.”

“I thought you weren't hungry?”

Aomine grabbed his fork and smiled widely, surprising Kagami for a moment.

“Nah I just got my appetite back!”

 

* * *

 

With a frown Aomine tsked in annoyance and put the gaming controller down. He leaned back in the plush couch with his arms crossed over his chest.

“This game is stupid...” he muttered, eyes narrowing when he heard Kagami chuckle.

“Come on,” the redhead said between laughs and gently shoved at his rival, ”you can't get mad every time someone is better than you at something.”

“Tch. Better my ass. If the controls weren't so fucked up I would have beaten your ass. This game won't even let me turn!”

The fact that Aomine was making such a big deal out of losing at mario cart was seriously hilarious. Not to mention watch as his character kept falling off the edge of the track over and over again. Kagami had tried not to laugh because he didn't want the other to feel undermined...but Aomine seriously sucked at this game.

He reminded Kagami of a sulking child who refused to admit that its loss had anything to do with lack of skills.

“It's not that hard. Look, you gotta-”

“I don't care. I'm not playing this anymore.”

He didn't even look when the other tried to show him the proper controls. As if he'd let Kagami teach him something.

“Fine, then is there anything else you wanna do?”

Aomine glanced at him as he considered the question. He decided it was time for a little payback since Kagami had laughed at him so he scooted closer to his rival and leaned down to purr, “There are many things I wanna do with you.” The meaning behind those words was clear and Kagami rolled his eyes as he pushed Aomine's face away from him.

“Keep dreaming, idiot.”

The bluenette pouted for a moment but it was short lived; with Kagami's hand still on his face, he smirked and playfully nipped at one of the other's fingers. This caused Kagami to remove his hand with a startled “what the fuck!” Inspecting his index finger he scowled at the light bite mark before directing the glare at the other teen who grinned. Well, at least he wasn't sulking anymore.

“Tch, you're fine. I invited you over because you looked miserable but now I'm starting to regret it.”

“Of course I'm fine. I've been _fine_ the whole time, ” Aomine scoffed and looked to the side in slight annoyance. With a small smirk tugging at his lips Kagami countered.

“Yeah right. I wouldn't call crying like a little kid fine. Hmph, talk about pathetic.”

Appalled at the accusation- because he hadn't cried- Aomine turned to his rival fast enough to get a whiplash, and locked his narrowed eyes with teasing red ones.

“Fuck off, I wasn't crying!” He grit his teeth when Kagami chuckled, obviously satisfied with the reaction he'd managed to draw out of him. But when a thought suddenly hit him it was his turn to smirk and he scooted closer to the redhead once more.

“But if you're that concerned about me and intent on cheering me up you could-”

“Don't finish that sentence. I only meant that seeing you moping like that is really creepy. No, I'd say it's gross.” Believe it or not, Kagami said this with good intentions. Bickering and insulting Aomine was a way to keep said bluenette distracted from whatever issues he had at home.

Aomine scoffed but didn't say anything for a while. He was actually pleased about the fact that Kagami wanted to cheer him up in the first place. It was kinda cute and no matter how embarrassing it was and how much he wanted to tease the redhead for it, it made him happy.

It showed that Kagami actually cared about him to a certain degree.

“Whatever. It won't happen again,” he then said with a small sigh and fell back into the couch.

“Some relatives on my dad's side are visiting for a week and I had an argument with them this morning. That's why I left the house.”

Kagami didn't say anything, just listened, and waited until Aomine was ready to continue. If he didn't want to elaborate that was fine too; he wouldn't pry. But it seemed that his rival had decided to tell him everything.

“It happens almost every time when I meet them. My grandmother always starts to lecture and nags at me to do better. Dad gets involved and agrees with her. My grades, my attitude, my hobbies...everything I do isn't good enough. And every time she compares me to my cousin, telling me to be more like him. But the worst part is when she keeps telling me to grow up and quit basketball because it's just a _childish game_. They're counting on me to take over my dad's company one day so they have really high expectations of me but I don't even want that.  It's no big deal, I just...it gets on my nerves. Sorry for boring you with it.”

“What? Aomine Daiki apologized to a mere commoner?” Kagami teased and gave a gentle push to the other's shoulder. Irritated, and now slightly embarrassed for not being taken seriously when opening up, the bluenette was about to retort but then the other teen spoke again.

“I get why you're upset though. If someone kept saying that to me I'd be pissed too. You have every right to be angry.”

Just before Kagami had said those words and Aomine had been about to speak, he'd only had time to open his mouth. Instead of closing once the redhead began to talk, it stayed open the whole time.

He hadn't expected that. After observing Kagami from day one Aomine knew that he was a good person. While he could sometimes come across as insensitive and brash, he still meant well and treated people kindly. Unless the person in question really deserved it, but even then he wasn't _mean_. However, he had never thought that Kagami would be so nice to _him_ ; he acknowledged-although reluctantly-that he was one of those people who didn't deserve it. He hadn't exactly been good to Kagami. Which was why he was surprised when the other showed such support.

And he knew that Kagami wasn't just telling him what he wanted to hear. It was his genuine opinion. He wasn't belittling him for showing some vulnerability. That simple fact created another one of those flutters in his stomach that he'd begun to feel lately whenever the redhead was involved.

“Thanks,” he muttered and looked away.

“So...what _do_ you wanna work as?”

“A cop. Or a basket pro. Either one is fine”

“Wow that's definitely far off from what your family wants. Pretty neat though. I mean, I can totally see you in the NBA.”

Aomine nodded, a bit flattered about that last comment even though he agreed one hundred percent. He had wanted to be a police for years after watching many gangster movies growing up. He thought they were cool. There was no way he'd spend the rest of his life sitting behind a desk in some office no matter how fancy. It would make him feel restricted and not to mention the responsibility he would have over the whole company and the people working under him. That was a burden he'd rather be without. The police profession was still a demanding job and came with responsibilities, but it was a different kind that he was more willing to accept. And as for basketball....well, it was kinda obvious.

“But Aomine, you should contact your parents and tell them you're ok. I'm still letting you stay here but they're probably worried.”

Aomine considered it for a moment. What Kagami said made sense but he still didn't think his parents deserved it. In fact, if they were worried about him then it served them right. It was their fault he left, after all. But if didn't call them he would have Kagami on his case so he agreed to it.

“Fine.”

“Good.”

While Kagami prepared the guest room Aomine made a call to his mom telling her that he was staying at a friend's house. She was angry, not that he had expected anything else, so he made it quick. She had still been in the middle of scolding him when he hung up. She knew he was ok and that was enough; he didn't need to listen to her shouting.

Putting his phone away he joined his host in the guest room. He had seen it before so he knew what it looked like but now there was a futon on the floor that Kagami was currently in the process of making.

“You know, if it's too much trouble I wouldn't mind sharing your bed.”

Kagami didn't turn to him when he answered but Aomine was pretty sure the redhead rolled his eyes.

“Nice try, Aho. And if I find you sneaking into my room tonight I'll kick your ass. Perhaps two black eyes this time since the first one suited you so well.”

“Hah. I _let_ you punch me that time...” Both knew what a total lie that was.

“Sure you did,“ the red-haired teen replied with a snort. He then stood up and motioned towards the futon.

“There, it's done. It's getting pretty late so I'm gonna take a shower and call it a night. Feel free to use it when I'm done.”

Aomine opened his mouth but was quick to close it when the other gave him a warning look. Kagami knew exactly what he had been about to say and it involved them together in the shower.

“I'll wake you up tomorrow.” He then said and left the room.

Later when Aomine lay in his futon he couldn't help but to think about the fact that Kagami was sleeping in the room next to him. What was he sleeping in? Was he only wearing boxers? Or was he the type who slept in the nude? Probably not but the thought made his own underwear tighten slightly. Shit, the slightest suggestive thought about his rival was enough for him these days. How pathetic.

This was the first time he slept over at Kagami's place and hoped it wouldn't be the last. He felt good when he was with Kagami; the atmosphere around him was relaxed and easy going. Kagami treated him like any person and a few months ago Aomine hadn't like that but now he had come to embrace it. For once, someone besides Momoi...and perhaps Sakurai, spent time with him without wanting anything in return. His wealth and status didn't mean anything and oddly enough it was actually kinda refreshing.

As he thought deeper about it and how their relationship had begun to change, Aomine realized that he had undeniably developed a crush on the fiery redhead.

_Well shit._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And feelings slowly start to ensue.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally finished this chapter! Damn this one was difficult. So yeah I've been away for two weeks and just got home; the chapter has been half done longer than that but i needed a break as inspiration has been scarce lately. So yeah, chapter 17.
> 
> And as always, thank you all for your support. Your comments, kudos and such helps me a lot. Without them i would be nothing :D

 

Aomine had always liked Kagami’s voice. From the first day they met and when he’d heard the other laugh, it had stirred something in him. It was deep and rich, a bit on the husky side and pleasant to listen to….but not in the morning. Or more specifically, not when it told him to  _ wake up  _ in the morning.

“Oi, Aho, get your ass out of bed!” 

“Fuck off…” the bluenette whined and placed the pillow on top of his head, pulling it down to cover his ears in order to drown out the other’s nagging. It turned out to be a bad idea because when Kagami realized he couldn’t be heard, he chose to use a more violent strategy. 

A pained grunt left him when he felt a foot connect to his side. 

“What the fuck, asshole!” he cried out and glared at a pair of smug red eyes. 

“I warned you. Not my fault you didn’t listen.”

The conversation was familiar, reminding Aomine of that time when he confronted the other about the black eye he’d been given. Ok so perhaps he wasn’t a good listener but that didn’t mean he deserved this kind of abuse! 

“If I wanted to I could have your ass sued…”

With a look of seriousness Kagami gave out a sigh.

“You’re right. Oh well, I guess moving back to L.A isn’t that bad-”

“Fuck no!”

The sudden outburst surprised both of them. They were both silent as they stared wide-eyed at each other for a moment. Aomine didn’t know what had come over him but the thought of the other leaving didn’t sit well with him. It had been bad enough when he'd left for the states for two _weeks_. When Kagami's words had been spoken and quickly processed Aomine felt a surge of panic. If Kagami left...who would he play basketball with? In his frenzy, the bluenette had bolted up into a sitting position and completely forgotten about how tired he was. His hair was tousled and under his eyes dark bags could be spotted. 

The silence was finally broken by Kagami breaking out into laughter. 

“What’s with that face, Aho? Aahahah you look like someone just kicked your puppy!”

“S-shut up!” Aomine snapped, a faint blush staining his cheeks and he aggressively threw the pillow at his host. Fuck this was embarrassing. Although in his defense, he hadn’t been fully awake. If he hadn't been so tired he could have controlled his outburst. 

“Are you saying you would miss me if I left?”

“...”

When his rival didn’t answer Kagami sat down on his hunches and insistently leaned forward. 

“Hm?”

“No fucking way! Leave for all I care!”

Chuckling, Kagami flashed him a smile that caused another butterfly effect in his belly. Damn what was with that lately? Stupid crush. 

“Well at least you’re awake now. By the way...what about your uniform?”

“What about it?”

“Well you kinda have to wear it for school and my extra one is in the laundry.”

Would Kagami have lent it to him if it was clean? He would be surrounded by his scent all day...and smell like him…

‘ _Fuck that’s creepy.’_ He scolded himself and with a sigh waved the other’s concern off. 

“I’ll just have my driver deliver it for me. Want him to pick us up?”

Kagami hesitated and glanced at his phone. Thanks to his lazy guest they probably wouldn’t make it in time. At best they’d _barely_ make it. He wasn’t too hyped about getting to school in a fancy car, no doubt receiving attention he didn't want - fuck what would Kise think?- but it wouldn’t do him any good to be late on his first day back in school. 

So for today he gave in to the idea. 

“Fine. Can he drop me off a bit farther away from the school building though?”

Aomine wanted to make a teasing remark but as he studied the hopeful and slightly pleading expression on the other’s face he felt himself wanting to grant Kagami’s request. He wanted to see him happy…

‘ _Gaahh what the fuck?’_

“Alright…” he replied simply, although a bit strained, but Kagami didn’t notice. With a relieved sigh and another smile he said “thanks,” and left the room to give the bluenette some privacy.

The driver would arrive in 20 minutes. Aomine took a quick shower and when he emerged into the kitchen where his rival was, his eyes immediately caught sight of the three bentos on the counter. Following his gaze Kagami picked up one and handed it to him. 

“Here is yours. It’s about the same as the one you had on the bus before but with a different filling in the onigiri.”

What?

Noticing the confused look, Kagami rolled his eyes as he grabbed his own two lunches and put it in his bag.

“ Don’t think too much of it. I’m just tired of you taking advantage of Sakurai so I made one for you instead. I'll make you lunch from now on.”

“Why do you care about that?” Aomine demanded and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. When he thought about it, Kagami was always nice to the stammering brunette and stood up for him whenever he got the chance.

“Do I need a reason? You’re being a total douchebag even though he’s your friend. Just quit it, Aomine. He hasn’t done anything to deserve it.”

Not liking where the conversation was heading Aomine decided to put an end to it. He muttered a “whatever” and went to put on his shoes. Despite the annoyance he now felt, disappointed that Sakurai was the reason why Kagami made him a bento, he was still happy about the fact that he would get to eat said redhead’s homemade lunch every day. 

Speaking of which…

“So who’s getting the third one?”

“It’s for me obviously.”

Ah of course. When he thought about it, Kagami had made himself two bentos for the bus trip to camp. Tch, what a glutton he was. 

The ride was a silent one for the most part with some light bickering every now and then. Aomine’s driver had told him that his parents wanted him to go home directly after school so they could talk. Kagami felt a little sorry for him. No doubt was the bluenette’s family upset and would probably scold him later. To be honest, he was on Aomine’s side this time. 

Just like the redhead had requested, they were dropped off some distance away from school. When Kagami had told the other that he didn’t have to get out too, his rival insisted. Several heads were turned their way as they entered through the school gates together. Some whispered as they stared, already starting up rumors most likely. And Kagami could feel the disapproving glares from some of the girls in their class.

“I’m gonna go change, see ya later,” Aomine said and went for the bathroom to get into his uniform. 

Kagami went ahead and when he entered the classroom he was greeted with a pouting Kise and a curious-looking Kuroko. Word really spread quick. 

_ 'Oh great' _

“Please just be quiet,” he muttered with a sigh and made way to his seat. 

“But Kagamicchi-” before the blonde could continue Kagami decided to get it over with. Though he left out a few details.

“ Yesterday me and Aomine met by accident and due to some circumstances at home he needed a place to stay so I took him in. I made dinner and in return he gave me a lift to school.  _ Nothing  _ more, Kise. Happy?”

His friend looked like he wanted to protest but before he could speak the redhead changed the subject. 

“How was your summer?”

Kise looked displeased but answered the question anyway. The three of them talked about the holiday and about five minutes later Aomine showed up. As soon as he got in he was surrounded by a swarm of girls. 

“It’s so nice to see you again, Aomine-kun! How was your summer? What did you do?”

A look of annoyance was plastered on his face at the chattering girls invading his private space. Directing his bored eyes to the side he replied with a shrug. 

“Meh. Played some basketball, went to the beach, training camp…”

“The beach? We went there too! It’s a shame we didn’t meet.”

Sneaking a glance at the girl’s chest, noting the average size, he shrugged. 

“I guess.”

He honestly didn’t care about not seeing them in their swimsuits. But he would love to go to the beach with Kagami. It was still August, perhaps they could go next weekend. 

Yeah right. 

Homeroom began at the teacher's arrival, preparing them for the next term. As he sat in his seat, not paying attention to what was being said, Aomine fixed his eyes on Kagami and felt a smile tug at his lips when he saw his rival failing at suppressing a yawn.

_ Damn he’s cute… _

  
  


* * *

 

Lunch was spent at their usual spot under the tree. Kise was talking about his latest photo shoot, Kagami and Kuroko trying their best to look interested and nod at the right timing, when they were joined by Aomine. The bluenette sat down with a grunt of “hey” as if he had always had lunch with them every day. The three boys all gave him a questioning look and when Aomine noticed he scowled. 

“What?” He bit out defensively, the sudden silence at his arrival making him uncomfortable. 

Kagami didn’t mind his presence; it had just surprised him. With a shake of his head he turned to Kise. 

“You were saying?”

“Ah right! So next week there is a shoot at the beach and my manager asked me to look around among friends for potential models. We’re a few short so the agency is looking for stand-ins. How about you, Kagamicchi?”

“I’ve told you before that it’s not my thing.”

“But they need a model for surfing boards. You surf!”

“That doesn’t-”

“You surf?” Aomine asked suddenly, impressed and a bit surprised by the new information. There was so much that he didn’t know about Kagami, he realized, and was filled the want to change that. Despite their growing relationship, the redhead didn’t share anything about himself with him which was disappointing. Granted, Aomine didn’t either so perhaps it was to be expected. But he was willing to try. He was very curious about Kagami's life. 

“Yeah. I started 3 years ago in L.A. A friend taught me.”

He wanted to see Kagami surf. Perhaps inviting him to the beach wasn't such a bad idea. 

“Ah, Aominecchi, you can be a model too! You’ve got the looks.”

“Nah, too much work.”

The chuckle his response received from his rival surprised him. He turned to Kagami and his eyes widened slightly at the smile on his lips. Actually, Kagami smiled at him a lot more these days. It was nice and the realization made him giddy. 

“Of course that would be the reason, you lazy fuck.”

“Hmph. I bet that if they offered you free food you wouldn’t hesitate to accept, you fat fuck,” he countered, imitating the last part. 

“Well...yeah. Wouldn’t you? I mean, you just don’t turn down free food. You’d be stupid not to...oh wait, never mind.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh nothing really…”

Their banter continued for a while during which Kuroko and Kise looked at each other questioningly. Things had definitely changed between those two fast. Anyone who saw them like this would think they were friends.

Kagami had been quick to deny that possibility on several occasions but Kuroko was starting to believe otherwise. Either his red haired friend didn't realize it himself, or he was too proud to recognize what was between him and Aomine as friendship. 

“By the way Aominecchi, your lunch looks great. Ah it kinda looks the same as Kagamicchi's,” Kise suddenly said, effectively putting an end to the banter. 

Aomine looked at him and shrugged. 

“Yeah, Kagami made it for me.” Then he smirked and added, “he's such a good housewife.”….

“Oi Aomine. Look here.”

Doing as Kagami asked, the bluenette turned his face to the other and the moment he did, a ball of rice was thrown in his face. 

“Ugh! What the hell!”

Kagami fell to his back, clutching his sides as he boomed with laughter. 

_ 'Yes,'  _ Kuroko thought with a short nod,  _'definitely friends.'_

When school finished Aomine informed Momoi and Kagami that he had to go home like his parents wanted, asking them to tell it to the coach. He offered them a small wave before turning around to leave but stopped when Kagami came after him. He turned to look at the other with a curious tilt of his head. 

“I'll follow you out. There is something I wanna talk about.”

Aomine studied him some more, wondering what it could be about, and then replied with a shrug. They walked side by side in silence until they exited the building, coming to a stop at the gate. 

“Ok so...I know you're having a hard time with your grades in some subjects and that your parents give you shit for it,” Kagami began and scratched the back of his head with a slightly nervous look. It was odd because Aomine rarely saw him nervous. He didn't like that his rival now knew that about him, it made him feel inferior in a way but remained quiet. 

“I'm pretty good at English so I was thinking, like, that I could help you out with that.”

“Wait, you're offering to teach me English?”

Diverting his eyes to the ground Kagami nodded. 

“Yeah. If you want.”

Now when he thought about it Aomine could probably get himself a professional private teacher to help him with the subjects he was lacking in. It made him regret offering and when he was about to take it back his rival spoke. 

“Sure. Thanks a lot.” There was a small smile on Aomine's lips as he said this and the soft look that accompanied it surprised Kagami for a moment. It was rare to see that look on the other, the ever present scowl completely gone. Swallowing silently in his throat, relieved that his offer hadn't been rejected, Kagami answered. 

“Alright. How about tomorrow? We can eat dinner at Maji after practice or something.”

Aomine shrugged. 

“Sounds good.”

After their agreement the bluenette bid him goodbye once more and made his way out to the parking lot where his driver was waiting. Kagami watched after him, suddenly confused about his sudden suggestion. If Aomine had troubles with his grade it wasn't his problem. But after yesterday when he'd found out about how Aomine's parents and relatives gave him a hard time for it, he'd felt sorry for him. He had promised himself to help his rival after all, in all ways possible. If this could do anything for him, Kagami would do it. 

He didn't do it because actually liked Aomine...

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aomine is starting to accept his crush but Kagami is still in denial. Although he doesn't have that strong feelings for Aomine yet but it's slowly starting. I think it' going to get easier to write the next few chapters as things will start to happen (i say this everytime).


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No comment... 
> 
> Except thank you all for your support! It means a lot <3

 

Aomine was sitting in his room, on top of the wide window sill and staring out through the glass. A few hours had passed since he got home and after a tiresome, but not unexpected, discussion with his family he had retired for the night. Things were a bit better between them now; Aomine's father had insisted on him apologizing to the others for his behavior but luckily his mother had shown some sympathy and after a lecture he was free to go. She'd told him that she understood his frustration but he had to work on his temper and promise to do better in school.

Not feeling like dining with his relatives – his grandmother specifically- he'd grabbed some food with him to his room. One of the chefs made it for him and the guy was a professional but somehow Kagami's food tasted better.

_Kagami._

It always came down to Kagami these days. It seemed like he couldn't think of anything without his mind wandering to his red haired class mate...rival...or whatever they were. Could you call them friends at this point? Friendship was something mutual and Aomine doubted that Kagami considered him a friend.

For the past half hour Aomine had done nothing but stare out the window and, while thinking about

the other, come to the realization of what an idiot he had been.

Getting Kagami in bed with him had been his main objective. When it became apparent that his looks and being rich wasn't enough, Aomine had searched for other ways to sway the stubborn redhead. And he'd found one. Namely, the sport they shared the same love for.

Use basketball to get close to Kagami, sleep with him and then dump him like he'd done with so many others. It would be his revenge for the black eye and several rejections.

_ 'It's not just about fucking him anymore. It's a matter of win or lose and the moment I get him on my bed it's my victory.' _

A long, pitiful groan left him at the memory of his own words and he pressed his forehead against the window glass.

He felt so stupid.

How could he possibly do that to Kagami? There was no way he would. Because...he liked Kagami. He would rather see him happy and cheerful, to be the reason behind those bright smiles.

He'd wondered for a while now why the other was so nice to him. Or well,  _ nicer _ . He didn't deserve it. And whether Kagami was aware of it or not, he had done so much for Aomine. Sure it had taken the bluenette some time to realize that it was something to be appreciated, but it was true. 

Kagami treated him like everyone else which was no longer an annoyance, but rather something he had come to embrace. Kagami didn't use him for his money like the “friends” of his childhood, didn't expect things from him and wasn't afraid of him. He treated him as his equal.

Kagami supported him when he fought with his parents, taking his side and had tried to make him feel better. He never patronized or talked down on him. 

And most importantly; the basketball. Kagami had truly saved him on that point. When Aomine realized that his strength on the court was near unmatched, it had hit him hard. Perhaps most people would think it ridiculous to use the term heartbroken explaining that scenario, but that's how it had felt. No one wanted to play against him anymore and no one bothered to play him at their full strength. Some had called him a monster. To slowly start hating something you've loved so much for so long is painful. 

But Kagami wasn't like those pathetic losers. Instead of being put off, he had been impressed and excited about Aomine's strength. He remembered being envious of the redhead for having a goal, to have a purpose in getting better. He'd never thought that Kagami would actually beat him...but he did. And so his love for basketball was revived. It wasn't like he had truly come to hate it before that but his passion had dulled tremendously.

And even if it was only Kagami who gave him that rush, the only person whom he could play against at his full strength, it was enough. He didn't need anything more than that. Playing against him was near addicting at this point and he wouldn't trade that for anything.

Then his thoughts wandered back to earlier when Kagami offered to help improve his English. A fond smile stretched out on his lips at the memory. The redhead had looked oddly troubled which was rare. There wasn't much that seemed to be able to bother Kagami but he'd actually acted as if he was nervous.

It had been undeniably cute...

As much as he liked thinking about the other though, it did cause some insecurities and unpleasantry. There was no way Kagami felt anything like that towards him. How could he after the way Aomine had acted?

Except his looks and being rich -the factors he had relied on up to now- what good qualities did he have? His basketball skills didn't count.

Tsk. It had become troublesome. He didn't want to think about it anymore. The best way to get over this hopeless crush would be to distance himself from Kagami and avoid talking to him. He knew that. But...he didn't  _ want _ to. He wanted to spend time with him. 

Did that mean he should try and pursue his crush? He had never been in a serious relationship before and it was clear that that's what he wanted to try with Kagami. Or at least a dating relationship. It wasn't just his body he was after and if he could prove that, then he might have a chance. The redhead didn't seem to _hate_ him at least. Maybe Aomine could even get him to like him. It was a naïve and stupid thought but trying couldn't hurt, right? 

“How the fuck do I do that though?”

He thought long and hard about it until he came to a conclusion. First he had to prove to Kagami that he was a decent person. That he wasn't  _ just _ a conceited, insensitive, superficial...self-loving asshole. 

_Shit._

He shook the negative thoughts off.

Kagami had done so much for him and it was about time he returned the favor.

 

* * *

 

The second he entered the classroom the next morning Kagami was on him. 

“Aomine!”

He was excited about something, eyes practically glowing and a wide smile on his lips. Raising a curious brow, Aomine asked what it was about. It had to be something big if it had Kagami so worked up. The answer should have surprised him and probably would a month ago, but considering how things had changed now it wasn’t strange. 

Yesterday at practice - which Aomine missed due to his family situation- the coach had revealed the new set-up of their team. It wasn’t different from the old one, almost identical in fact, except one little detail. Namely, the starter position as power-forward that Aomine and Kagami now were to share. 

From now on they would play half a game each, one for the first half and the other for the second half. That way they could conserve stamina during their time on the bench and go all out for the entirety of their own half. Harasawa had seen Kagami's vast improvement at training camp and since then given it a lot of thought. 

Kagami was obviously ecstatic as he would be guaranteed to actually play in games and not just work as a stand in. 

And oddly enough, Aomine was excited too. He couldn’t bring himself to be upset or disappointed about this new arrangement because one: Kagami was so happy and two: he would get to see his rival play from afar which he’d never done before. He looked forward to it. 

“Sounds good,” he replied simply with a small smile which surprised the redhead. 

“You're not mad?”

“Do you want me to be?”

Truth to be told Kagami had felt smug about the fact that the coach thought he was good enough to receive the same position as Aomine who'd been on the team longer than him. He'd expected the other to at least show a little bit of disapproval so that he could gloat and tease him a bit. 

“No, it just surprised me a little that's all. I thought you wanted the position for yourself.”

“Well, I would probably be upset if it was a month ago. But...” Aomine hesitated , considering whether what he wanted to say next was too embarrassing or not, but came to the conclusion that even if it was, he was supposed to be nice.

“You deserve it...” He hoped that the heat on his cheeks wasn't seen by the other.

Kagami didn't notice. He was too busy being awestruck by what Aomine had just said. Had he just been complimented? A real compliment and not just some crude comment about his body?

He replied with a simple thank you that sounded more like a question and took notice of how the air had suddenly turned awkward. Aomine saying such nice things to him was too strange. But he tried to direct the conversation elsewhere.

“Don't forget we're studying English at maji after practice today.”

“I won't,” said Aomine with a click of his tongue, not liking how Kagami underestimated his memory.

_'As if I'd forget something like that.'_

He looked forward to it a lot which was probably why the lessons seemed way longer than usual today. Whenever he glanced at the clock it was if it had stopped, what felt like an hour always turned out to be fifteen minutes or less.

And when the final bell rang he was further disappointed as he remembered that there was practice to endure before he and Kagami could leave. An impatient sigh left him as he made his way to the gym. Kagami was already there of course and so where most of the others. Aomine admitted that he'd dawdled a bit on purpose.

When he entered the gym he caught the sight of Kagami with his arm slung around Wakamatsu's shoulders, wearing a teasing grin as they talked. Sakurai shared their conversation, standing with them, and his eyes would shift to the redhead every now and then. Aomine didn't like it. Granted, it was just some banter between teammates but he'd had Kagami all to himself during the summer holidays and thus gotten used to that. Seeing him interact so intimately with the others didn't sit well with him; it caused a small wave of jealousy in him. _He_ wanted that kind of attention.

It dawned on him then that with this crush of his, that had undeniably gotten stronger, everyone was competition.

 

* * *

 

 

“Fuck this...”

“Oi you can't give up just cause you didn't get it on the first try. Jeez this is like mario cart all over again.”

Aomine gave Kagami a glare at the unwanted reminder to which the redhead chuckled. He leaned over the table and pointed at the sentence, now closer to Aomine who couldn't help but to let his eyes wander to Kagami's lips. They parted, moving as he spoke but the words that came out through were not processed. The only thing Aomine could think of was how it would feel like to kiss them.

“Are you listening?”

“No...I mean yes.”

“Okay then do as I just told you.”

Quickly diverting his gaze from Kagami's lips he looked down at the text and felt his frown deepen.

“When are we eating?” He asked in a pathetic attempt to get away from all the – in his opinion- hard work. Opposite him Kagami sighed.

“When you've read this paragraph. I need to know what you have troubles with.”

“I can just tell you.”

“No. The best way for me is to hear you. We're working on pronunciation, remember?”

“Right...”

He had make some effort, he told himself. Kagami was nice enough to help him on his spare time so the least he could do was try. Besides, he was still on a mission to be nice. Clearing his throat he began to read the first paragraph and hoped that it wouldn't sound too terrible. What if Kagami laughed at him?

Damn it he hated feeling so insecure! And he only felt like that when he was with Kagami.

He got suck on some words a few times but Kagami helped him through it and once he'd finished the last sentence his heart was hammering in his chest. He was blushing too.

“Okay it wasn't too bad. I mean, I've heard worse.”

“Wow thanks,” Aomine muttered sarcastically and rolled his eyes but he did feel a little bit of relief. What Kagami said was better than being laughed at.

“So first of all, you need to pronounce the _er_ as it is instead of as _a_. So when you say Understand it sounds like Und- _ **a-**_ stand. Pull your tongue back a little and press it upwards until it almost touches the roof of your mouth. Look I'll show you.”

It wasn't a typical japanese sound so it was difficult to get it right. They went at it for about ten minutes, just practicing words with the _er_ combination, before they decided to order some food. Although only slight, some improvements had been made.

“I'll go. Five Teriyaki burgers, right? You stay here and keep practicing.”

Aomine watched him go towards the register to order and for the tenth time since they left school told himself that this wasn't a date. It was just Kagami helping him out with English so he could get away from his parent's nagging.

English and history were his worst subjects. Not skill wise, mind you, as he was pretty shitty in math as well, but the math teacher was a complete tool who would give Aomine the highest grade for a good price. It was only Midorima and the English teacher who didn't do those kinds of deals with him.

_'It's not a date.'_

But wouldn't you call this a study _date_? By definition, it could be either two people studying together as friends  _or_ a real date where two romantically involved people studied. So if he called this a study date, it could be both. And if anyone asked he could just say it was the first while still calling it a d-

He jumped in his seat when a tray was place down in front of him. His widened eyes looked up at Kagami who sat down opposite him with his own tray in hand. 

“I'm starving,” he muttered and didn't waste any time unwrapping his first burger and taking a bite out of it. Practice had been tough and drained his energy. Aomine on the other hand, didn't move.  


They had eaten at Maji like this many times. Why did it feel so different all of a sudden? Why was he jumpy and nervous? Because they weren't just there to eat? Because it wasn't the usual aftermath of a one-on-one? Because Kagami had asked him if he wanted to go there with him?

“We're working on consonants next.”

Ugghh.

Brows turned down into a slight scowl Aomine took a burger of his own and sullenly brought it to his mouth.

He wished they were out on a real date. This wasn't romantic at _all._

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah he has realized that he doesn't just want Kagami for his body. I think the story is actually over half way now. Probably. I'm gonna try (TRY) to not cross 30 chapters.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took a while...*pant* but it's done! I have such mixed feelings and experiences with his chapter. It's been a pain to write but at certain parts it just flowed. I think this is the longest chapter i've written so far tbh. xD 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you like it. And as usual, thank you all for the support! It means a lot <3

 

“How have you managed up until now?” Kagami asked in disbelief but even more in amazement. Aomine scoffed and with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders replied.

“I borrowed Satsuki's notes. She's smart.”

With a sigh Kagami shook his head. While it wasn't a hopeless case, teaching his rival English was easier said than done. The problem itself wasn't really Aomine's ability- because he'd showed that he could learn if he put his mind into it- but rather his lack of motivation. He easily became distracted and lost focus.

It was their second study session and they'd both agreed that Kagami's apartment was the best place for it. Maji was too noisy and the food was a distraction on its own as well; other public places were no better.

So after both school and practice were over they headed home to the apartment Aomine had gotten so used to now. Albeit a lot smaller and cheaper than his own home, he liked it. The simplicity relaxed him. 

“Come on Aomine, just finish answering the questions and we'll review them together.”

“Fine,” the bluenette answered with a reluctant sigh. He was grateful to Kagami, really, but studying was so _boring_. And at this hour his energy levels weren't exactly top notch. But he did as told nonetheless.

They were working on a reading comprehension homework at the moment which Kagami had finished a while ago and was currently reading a basketball magazine while he waited.

Five more minutes of silence with the occasional tap of a pen as Aomine wrote down an answer passed and during this time said bluenette had occasionally glanced up at his tutor. Every time he did so, the urge to ask the question that had been at the tip of his tongue all afternoon grew stronger. Finally he couldn't keep in it anymore.

“Hey Kagami...are we friends?”

He had been wondering about this matter a lot lately. There was no question that their relationship had changed for the better since day one; the disastrous first meeting between the two of them somehow managed to lead to this, which was definitely an improvement but how was he supposed to define “this”?

Kagami, surprised at the sudden -and unexpected- question, looked up from the magazine and stared at him for a while. His eyes had widened slightly and his lips were half parted. Then after a moment of thought he just shrugged.

“I don't know. I mean, I guess?”

“You guess?”

“Yeah. I haven't really thought about it.”

He hadn't thought about it? Well, that was a bit discouraging considering how much Aomine had pondered on how to define their relationship. He was certainly ready to call Kagami his friend. It shouldn't be a strange thing in his opinion; they hung out on a regular basis, had lunch together in school almost every day, they were comfortable enough to be honest with each other and they shared various interests. Sure they didn't know that much about each other yet but that could always change in time. What was between them should at least be able to be considered the _beginning_ of a friendship.

“Then what would you call it?” He persisted. He wanted to know Kagami's standpoint and wouldn't settle for a “I don't know” or something along those lines. He waited patiently as Kagami considered it, a thoughtful look on his face.

“Up till now I haven't considered it because I didn't think it mattered that much to you. Do you want us to be friends? I mean, I wouldn't mind.”

“When you say it like that it sounds like you'd force yourself. Just because I want-”

“Idiot. If I didn't want to hang out with you I wouldn't, trust me. I just don't want to call you my friend unless you are willing to do the same. It's a mutual thing.”

To be completely honest, Kagami was lying about not having thought about it. He might not have spent days and sleepless nights trying to figure out the nature of their relationship, but he had questioned it. At some point he begun to enjoy the time they spent together and it wasn't just when they played basketball. Aomine was actually an alright person and after hanging out with him so much, naturally he had asked himself the question whether they were friends or not. So when he said he hadn't thought much about it he was lying but at the same time it hadn't bothered him like it had Aomine.

“I want to,” Aomine replied with his eyes on the table, a little embarrassed but also relieved. After thinking about this for so long it was nice to finally have it confirmed and a part of him had expected rejection.

“Alright, then yes, we're friends.”

Kagami chuckled as he was struck by a thought.

“It's kinda weird huh? A while ago we couldn't stand each other and now we're suddenly friends,” Aomine returned the smile but it was weak. He didn't like to think back on his past behavior.

_'Well, a while ago I was an idiot,'_ he thought to himself and resisted the urge to sigh yet again. 

But he was happy that he'd finally gotten Kagami to like him to enough to call him his friend. It was better than he'd hoped for.

The small smile Kagami had on his lips then suddenly fell and his eyes narrowed into a frown.

“Now finish the damn exercise, Aomine. I'm hungry.”

It took about 10 minutes until Aomine finally answered the last question and then another 10 for the two of them to go through the results. Kagami pointed out the faults and explained the reasoning behind them.

“Ok now that you know where you went wrong I want you to do them again while I make dinner.”

“But-”

“If you don't, you're not getting any food.”

“Tch. Fine.”

A teasing smile stretched out on Kagami's lips as he said “It's for your own good.”

 

* * *

 

“Hey, do you wanna come over to my place on Friday? My parents are away until next Tuesday,” Aomine asked half way through dinner. Kagami had made chicken dumplings.

“Isn't Friday your birthday?”

Aomine paused, the chopsticks half way to his mouth.

“Oh you knew.”

“Well, I _am_ friends with Kise, after all.”

That made sense. Tch, that blabbermouth. Aomine was about to retort but Kagami beat him to it and continued with another question.

“Don't you usually throw a big party on your birthday?”

“Yeah but I was thinking not to this year.”

Aomine's birthday was usually a big spectacle. He would invite the whole school and everyone was allowed to bring their friends as well. His house could hold them all and the team of chefs in his kitchen were used to cooking up big meals. Some students at Touou were still talking about last years party which had been the wildest and biggest up until now; it had also undoubtedly created high expectations for this year. Imagine their disappointment when they found out Aomine wasn't planning on having one. It had of course been the plan at the start of the year but since he met Kagami things had changed. Perhaps he'd throw something the weekend afterwards or something. 

“So... you want me to celebrate it with you?”

“Satsuki will be there too. She refuses to stay away. Anyway...I was kinda thinking that we could like, celebrate together since we're both born in August. I missed your birthday cause you were in L.A so...yeah.”

That...actually sounded nice, Kagami thought. He surely hadn't expected it but the more he thought about it the better it sounded to him. This year he'd been lucky to be with his family and actually celebrated with them but when he was younger his father often had to cancel any birthday plans due to his busy job. Even his aunt, who worked at the same company, usually couldn't make it either. Celebrating ones birthday alone wasn't fun at all.

“Sure. I'll make us a big birthday dinner and a cake.”

“You don't need to do that! There are chefs at home; we're celebrating you too and you shouldn't have to cook on your birthday.”

“Aomine, I want to. I _like_ to cook. Oh and you get to choose what I'm making.”

Well, he couldn't very well refuse an offer like that.

“Alright. But I pay for the ingredients.”

Kagami smiled.

“Deal.”

During the rest of the meal they discussed the shared birthday get together, what kind of cake they wanted to eat and what they'd be doing. Aomine was very happy about the fact that two of his errands had been taken care of today and both completed in success.

Before he went home Kagami gave him some English comics to read.

“Consider it homework,” he'd said and although not too happy about it, Aomine supposed that if he had to be given homework, reading comics wasn't that bad.

 

* * *

 

Kagami and Momoi didn't go home with Aomine directly after school on Friday. They'd decided to go home and pack since they were staying the night and get a few things fixed; then they'd meet up and together take the train to where Aomine lived. Momoi had suggested it and since she knew exactly where her childhood friend lived Kagami was very glad for it.

It was now four in the evening and after he'd packed some sleepwear, toothbrush, a change of clothes and swimwear – apparently Aomine had a swimming pool- he proceeded to put the cake he'd made yesterday into a carton box. Once everything was done he texted Momoi telling her that he was on his way.

She replied about five minutes later saying that she was on the train to the station where they were meeting up.

When he saw her Kagami was hit by a feeling of uncertainty. Momoi had dressed up rather nicely, wearing a sea-green dress with long sleeves and ended at the knees. With it she wore a pair of white heels and a pearl necklace. It was very elegant and he felt a little sheepish for not having dressed up himself. Since it was just the three of them that would be celebrating he figured that there was no point. So he'd only opted for a pair of gray jeans that were ripped at the knees and a black T-shirt.

“Hello, Kagamin!”

He had completely given up on convincing her to drop that nickname.

“Hey,” was his simple reply as she gave him a hug. When she let go he decided to tackle the clothing issue.

“You look nice. I should have put on something better...”

“Oh no don't worry, Kagamin! I know Dai-chan won't dress fancy today. I usually don't get the opportunity to dress up so I decided to use this as an excuse.”

It made him feel a bit better. Normally he wouldn't care about his outer appearance but since it was Aomine's birthday he felt like he should have put some effort into it.

“So, did you find him anything at last?” She then proceeded to ask after they'd boarded the train.

The matter of what to give Aomine for a birthday present had been difficult to say the least. He felt that materialistic things were useless because there was nothing Aomine couldn't buy himself with his near limitless bank account. And he had so much stuff already and even when Kagami asked him what he wanted for his birthday, the bluenette had shrugged and said that he didn't know. It was more like he didn't _need_ anything. And the fact that Aomine then had told him that Kagami giving him anything at all was enough, which was after Kagami refused to count the cake as a present.

“ _The cake is to celebrate both of us. It's not a present.”_

So he'd opted for Momoi's advice but she had pretty much said the same thing claiming that “ _Dai-chan will be happy whatever you buy for him.”_

It hadn't helped him in the least. But thankfully he had found something in the end and just hoped that Aomine would like it.

“Yeah eventually.”

“What is it?” She pressed excitedly.

“You really want me to tell you now? That will spoil the surprise.”

Momoi pouted, disappointed, but agreed with him nonetheless.

“That's true. Fine, I'll wait. And I won't tell you mine either.”

Kagami chuckled.

“Good. I'm sure it's great.”

Four stations later they arrived at their intended station. From there it was a fifteen minute walk to the Aomine residence. Kagami was curious because this would be the first time visiting his rival... _friend's_ place. He knew it would be large and fancy -probably a mansion- which already caused some discomfort in him.

They walked next to each other in silence for a while; it wasn't uncomfortable since they'd gotten to know each other better, both through the basketball club and Aomine. Heck, even the train ride had improved their relationship somewhat.

But before they reached the house, Momoi decided to speak up about something that she'd wanted to say for a while now.

“Kagamin, thank you for being friends with Dai-chan. I know he's difficult to get along with and...he's been treating you badly. After he met you he said some rude things about you that I definitely didn't approve of ... but he's not a bad person, really. Lately he's been getting a lot better and he's happy more often. I think it's because you're with him.”

“Come on....it's not-” when the girl shook her head stubbornly he trailed off.

“It is. You're helping him. He's told me about the times you two play basketball together and I'm so happy that he's having fun again.”

“Well, someone had to put some sense into him. I just couldn't stand how arrogant he was. Well, he still _is_ but...” He didn't need to elaborate.

“Yes he was very upset about you rejecting him,” Momoi chuckled which caused the redhead to do the same. The look on Aomine's face that first day had been priceless.

The pink haired girl then continued.

“I know he comes off as arrogant and self-loving but there is a reason for it. He's the only child of a rich family; his parents, especially his mom, have spoiled him his entire life. They love him and can buy him anything he wants; even the nannies praised and spoiled him and since his parents are always busy they haven't had the time to properly raise him and tell him right from wrong.”

Kagami hummed. He could definitely understand what she was saying and found himself feel sorry for Aomine. Again. It reminded him of himself to a certain extent; he'd been raised by nannies too but thankfully they and his father hadn't spoilt him as much. There was also his aunt who'd made sure to help when she could.

“It wasn't until he started high school last year that his family began to nag at his grades and behavior. Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks. He seems to be a lot happier these days.”

At first he'd felt embarrassed but Kagami actually was relieved. He was happy to have been of some help at least. After all, that's what he'd promised himself that time when he watched Aomine play for the first time. To help him. 

 

* * *

 

 

Kagami had come prepared but he still couldn't help the surprise that hit him when they stopped outside the gate to Aomine's house. It was massive.

The whole neighborhood was a rich one and everywhere you looked there were large, luxurious houses... _mansions,_ and apartments. They were all western styled and modern, reminding Kagami of the fancy neighborhoods in L.A. 

“Whoa...” was the most intelligent thing he was able to say at that moment. He heard Momoi hum behind him.

“I know.”

Unlike Aomine, her family wasn't rich. Their mothers were friends despite their economical and social differences; it was natural that they arranged play dates for their children. Aomine and Momoi had been friends since the age of 6.

The gate guard recognized her and had also been informed of the two teens' visit. They entered through the gates as they opened and walked up the wide, stone path up to the house. Aomine was already at the door when they arrived, having been texted by Momoi when they'd gotten off the train.

“Yo,” he said simply and offered a short wave.

Kagami returned the gesture.

“Hey...uhm, nice house.”

Recognizing the amazed look on his face Aomine sniggered.

“Thanks.”

Kagami was relieved to see that the bluenette was indeed wearing casual clothes. A pair of black shorts and a dark blue tank top. It was simple but looked really good on him.

_Wait what?_

Aomine was a good looking guy, he knew that and wasn't arguing against it. But lately he looked even better than usual.

_Okay stop right there._

Shaking his head Kagami went inside the house along with the others. And the inside was even more impressive than the outside. He'd never seen ceilings that high before, or windows that tall. It truly was a mansion.

“The bathtubs probably have golden lion paws...” he muttered quietly to himself but Aomine who was walking next to him heard and with a snicker said, “actually they don't. We stick to more modern furnishing.”

“I see.”

Aomine showed Kagami around. Momoi went to leave her things meanwhile. There were many impressive rooms but Kagami's favorite was no doubt the kitchen. It was what he had been looking forward to seeing the most and he was certainly _not_ disappointed.

He knew he was going to have a good time cooking in there.

Just like everything else it was modern, clean and expensive. From the stoves to dishwashers, everything was of the latest model and technology. It had everything Kagami could ever dream of in a kitchen.

Not able to wait any longer he immediately begun to take out the ingredients. The cake was put in the fridge meanwhile. As per their agreement, Aomine paid for the ingredients and Kagami turned them into his favorite dishes.

Sitting down on one of the bar stools at a countertop Aomine watched. It was rather fascinating to be honest; Kagami made it look so easy and he looked like he'd cooked all his life with his smooth movements and adding ingredients without needing any measurements. When Aomine commented on this the other simply shrugged and replied that he preferred to go on feeling. Needless to say, this only made him all the more impressive.

“Where did you learn to cook like that?”

“Well, my dad was always very busy with his job when I was a kid and the nanny was pretty shit at cooking so I taught myself. I read a bunch of recipe books and learned the basics. Then my aunt found out and offered to teach me more. She's pretty decent...not as good as me though.”

“How old were you?”

“About ten, I think.”

Aomine hummed thoughtfully. When he was ten years old all he could do was milk and cereal. Barely. But he'd never had to make food for himself; if he was hungry he just had to tell it to the chefs and they'd make him something. He briefly considered the fact that Kagami had never mentioned his mother. It was probably best not to ask. At least for now. 

He was happy that he'd learned something new about Kagami today.

“By the way,” he started and glanced around the room, “did Satsuki take my presents somewhere?”

Without looking away from the frying pan Kagami replied.

“She told me you're impatient when it comes to that sort of stuff so I asked her to hide the one I bought with hers. No sneakpeaks.”

“Tch.”

Glancing over his shoulder Kagami was greeted with a pout and couldn't help but smirk.

“I bet you were the kind of kid that went up in the middle of the night on the day before christmas to feel up all your presents.”

Spot on.

“Yeah. Anything wrong with that?” He snapped, but it lacked bite, and crossed his arms. The snigger he received in return caused one of those flutters in his stomach he'd felt a lot lately.

“Never said it was.”

A few minutes later Momoi entered the kitchen. After reassuring Aomine that he wouldn't be able to find his gifts no matter how hard he looked she went over to Kagami and curiously inquired about what he was making.

Just when said redhead was about to open his mouth and answer Aomine suddenly stood and cried out.

“Get away from him Satsuki!”

The outburst surprised both of them and they'd both turned to look at him with equally wide eyes. But Momoi quickly recovered and drew her brows into a slight frown.

“What's with you?”

“Yeah, Aomine, what the heck?”

Shaking his head the bluenette continued.

“You don't understand, Kagami, you can't underestimate her when it comes to cooking! She destroys everything she touches!”

The pink haired girl gasped, obviously offended by the accusation.

“Dai-chan, that's not true!”

“Uhuh. Remember last time? You couldn't even-”

Before he could finish Momoi ran up to him and covered his mouth with her hands.

“Shh! That was an accident!”

Narrowing his eyes Aomine pried her hands away and retorted with, “the only accident was me letting you use the kitchen.”

“Come on, it can't be that bad,” Kagami said from the stove but felt hesitant at the blank stare the bluenette gave him.

“Well...even if it can, I'd be willing to teach you some easy recipes, Momoi.”

Momoi beamed at the offer.

“Really? Thank you, Kagamin! You're so nice!”

“Yeah yeah, teach her later. Just keep her away from my birthday dinner.”

 

* * *

 

“Fuck that was good. If I could I would've eaten more.”

“Yeah same here. I'm stuffed.”

“You guys are monsters,” Momoi intervened and placed her hands on her belly. The food had been delicious and she'd eaten way more than her usual amount; she hadn't been able to stop herself from tasting every dish Kagami had made. It looked and smelled so delicious that she had to try them all. But her amount couldn't compare to what the other two had eaten. For the past fifteen minutes while digesting Momoi had watched with an odd fascination as Aomine and Kagami stuffed their faces without end. Well, the end did come eventually, but it had surely taken it's sweet time.

“There is cake later...”

“Ugh don't remind me.”

Even with the three of them of which two had the appetite equal to that of a fully grown horse there was still a lot left. They'd have it for breakfast tomorrow, they decided and together put everything in the fridge.

It was then time to open the presents. Kagami had insisted that he didn't need any as he'd already celebrated his birthday with his family and received gifts from them. Momoi had thankfully obliged but Aomine hadn't said anything. Not yes or no. Nothing.

Since Momoi was the one who'd stored Aomine's presents in her room she went to get them. The bluenette also excused himself and was gone for a little while which left Kagami alone in the big living room.

He sat down on one of the couches and took the time to really take the room in. It was all big windows and high tech, modernization at its best. After what he'd seen so  he couldn't help but wonder how it felt like to live in it. If it was him he probably wouldn't have liked it. Not that he'd grown up in a small house himself, but it couldn't compare to the Aomine residence. It must have been lonely and probably still was; especially with Aomine's parents gone all the time. Nannies couldn't replace parental love and Kagami vaguely remembered Sakurai mentioning something about Aomine having trouble making friends as a child. He didn't know the reason behind it as the brunette hadn't elaborated on that point, but the fact remained.

He heard someone enter the room and when he turned around to look over the couch he was met by Aomine who walked up to the sofa table and put down a big box he'd been holding. Kagami raised a curious brow and looked at it for a moment before lifting his gaze to his friend.

“What's that.”

He had a suspicion about the package but didn't want to jump to any conclusions just yet. But it was difficult not to when he was given a sly smirk.

“It's your birthday present.”

That confirmed it.

Leaning back in the couch with a sigh Kagami threw the other an accusatory look.

“I thought I told you that- .”

“Yeah but since when do I listen to you? Besides, I _wanted_ to give you something. It's you own fault for going to USA before I could buy you anything.”

It wasn't that Kagami was ungrateful or unhappy about the gesture because, he _was_ , but even if they were celebrating together, it was Aomine's birthday and shouldn't have to give someone else a gift. Kagami felt guilty. He opened his mouth to protest which the other seemed to understand and was quick to stop him.

“Shut up. It's just a belated birthday present. I'm giving it to you now since you weren't here back then. You're taking it and that's that.”

Another sight.

“Fine.”

“Good.”

Kagami tried to keep his displeased frown on for a bit longer but it proved difficult and soon he found himself letting his emotions take over and broke the hard look with a genuine smile.

“Thanks, Aomine.”

Not having counted on the sudden change Aomine felt an unstoppable heat rise on his cheeks. He averted his gaze to the side and with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulder told the other that it wasn't a big deal.

A few minutes later Momoi joined them with an armful of presents. It made Kagami feel bad for not having gone with her; but she'd offered to take care of the presents he'd bought so that he could focus on making the dinner. He stood up to offer assistance but she dismissed him and hurried up to the table where she put down the several wrapped packages. She glanced at the big box Aomine had brought and smiled. She'd known all about it, of course.

“So, who wants to open first?” She asked after seating herself in one of the couches.

Kagami insisted that Aomine opened his first since it was _his_ birthday and thankfully he was met by very little resistance.

Aomine decided to open Momoi's gifts first; there were two of them.

The first was a new bottle of his favorite cologne. Being the information gatherer she was, she'd known way before her friend that his current one was running out. It was only a few days ago that Aomine realized that there was less than half of it left. The second gift was a simple one; a box filled with a mix of Aomine's favorite candy. She would have liked to give him more but her middle-class economy wouldn't allow it. The cologne had been pricey enough.

Aomine was very happy for the gifts and thanked her with a hug. He took a piece of candy, a chocolate-caramel praline, before setting the box down. It was then time to open the presents Kagami had bought for him and he was very excited about it. The reason he'd started with Momoi's presents was because he wanted to save Kagami's for last. He had no idea what to expect from him.

“Start with that one,” Kagami said and pointed at the bigger box. He further added that there was an order to the gifts. Aomine thought little of it and did as told. The box was pretty small and rectangular, covered in a dark blue gift wrap with white gift lace.

With eager hands he tore through it and opened the box. Inside was a necklace; a black leather cord connected to a big, white fang of some kind. As he took it out, Kagami began to fidget in his seat. Finding a present for Aomine had been such a chore and he'd been so close to giving up, planning to buy a basketball or something equally simple.

But then one night lying awake and pondering on the subject he'd suddenly remembered a conversation they'd had once about what animals they would like to be. Aomine had said that he'd like to be a jaguar; a black one because he thought they looked cooler. Jaguar had been his favorite animal since he saw a documentary about them when he was a small kid. Kagami had searched online and without much difficulty ordered a jaguar tooth necklace. He just hoped it would be enough and that Aomine liked it.

“It's a jaguar tooth.I thought that you might like it because, you know, jaguar is your favorite animal. And I made sure it was from a black one...”

He hated how insecure he felt. It was only Aomine; if he didn't like it that wasn't a big deal. They'd said a lot worse things to each other. So why was he so nervous?

“This is really cool, Kagami. Thanks a lot!”

Despite what he'd been told – that Aomine would be glad no matter what he was given- Kagami really didn't expect the other to be _that_ happy. Not to mention the bright, happier than he'd ever seen _smile_ sent his way as the bluenette put the necklace on. Kagami didn't know if he liked the effect it had on him.

“N-no problem. I'm just glad you like it.”

“I love it!”

Aomine's heart was beating fast. Not only did he love the gift but he was secretly very happy about the fact that the other had actually remembered that conversation; it proved that Kagami paid attention to him and in a way actually cared. He took the fang between his fingers and inspected it closer once he'd put the necklace on.

“The other present is kinda related to that,” Kagami explained. Aomine nodded and proceeded to open it. It was even smaller than the first and it contained two tickets to a zoo. He explained that he'd done some research and that there was one where they actually had jaguars.

“So you can see them in real life. I bought two so you can bring someone...cause it's not really any fun to go by yoursel-”

“Great! I'm bringing you, then.”

Kagami protested at first but gave in rather quickly. During the short argument Momoi watched them with a smile. It was so nice to see them act like this with each other. She had been afraid that Aomine was acting friendly with the redhead as just a means to achieve his goals, but she knew him and could see that it was real. Her childhood friend really liked Kagami.

It was then Kagami's turn. Thankfully Momoi had listened to him and didn't buy anything but she did state that she'd known about Aomine's gift all along.

Basketball shoes. _Really_ nice basketball shoes on top of that. They were obviously of the best quality and brand...and Kagami loved them. The color scheme was a bit different from his old ones but the model was about the same. It was love at first sight and he was nearly drooling over them.

But...

“Aomine...they are super nice. But they must've cost a lot. Are you sure you want to give them to-”

“Yes. I won't let you reject them. Don't worry about the price, it's no big deal and I _really_ mean it.”

Kagami knew he did. There was nothing Aomine couldn't buy. These shoes had probably done very little to change the amount on his bank account for the worse. He probably wouldn't even notice the slight decrease.

When Kagami didn't say anything for a moment he continued.

“You practice with the same shoes you wear for games. It's not good, you'll wear them out and I don't want you to play half assed against me.”

Lifting his eyes to look at him, the redhead nodded and smiled.

“Thanks a lot, Aomine. I mean it, this is one of the best presents I've ever been given.”

_Thump._

“N-no problem. Of course it's the best, _I_ bought it after all.”

Momoi could see right through him. A small chuckle escaped which earned a subtle glare from Aomine.

The rest of the evening passed smoothly. They had some cake, watched a movie, took a dip in Aomine's swimming pool and jacuzzi before calling it a day. They went for bed all satisfied, agreeing that they'd had a very nice evening together.

 

 

 


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just end already! xD I want to finish this story as fast as possible; I have 2 new ones I've started to work on from time to time but haven't posted yet and they're a lot fun to write. Anyway, I'm still sticking to the 30 chap limit for now. Just hope I'll be able to achieve it. 
> 
> Thanks for the lovely comments and kudos from last chapter, it makes me very happy to know that I have so much support for this fic! <3 <3

 

Aomine didn't wait long to use up the zoo tickets Kagami gave him for his birthday. They went the next weekend on Sunday and unsurprisingly Kagami refused to go there by the bluenette's driver. So train it was. Aomine had gotten a bit more used to it by now so he didn't complain...even if it was a bit inconvenient.

After a twenty minute train ride they walked a few blocks until reaching the zoo. The time was 10:15 and while there was a decent amount of people there already, it wasn't packed which was the reasoning behind them going early.

“Where are the jaguars?” Aomine asked eagerly and turned in all directions in order to spot said animal. He was acting like a child, Kagami thought and sniggered.

“Relax. We'll see them eventually. Let's just go from start to finish, ok?”

He wondered for a moment why Aomine had never decided to come here before. The money obviously wasn't an issue; if he really wanted to see jaguars he could have done so whenever he wanted. Heck, he could probably even _buy_ one and keep it as a pet. Poor jaguar...but still. The question remained. But he could ask later. Today he would just let Aomine enjoy himself. 

Speaking of the other boy, he had already gone to see the first animal in the area. Kagami hadn't noticed him leave but finding him wasn't a problem. Not with that blue hair. He joined his friend's side and looked down into the pen where seals where swimming around in a pool that had been made to look like the sea with beaches and slabs of stones they could rest or sun-bathe on.

One seal, chubbier than the rest, was picking a fight with another over some fish. It looked absolutely ridiculous the way it swatted at the other's head with its fin and the honking sound it made only added to it.

Kagami took out his phone to snap a picture and smiled as Aomine broke out into a hearty laugh. He chuckled a little himself when the smaller seal attempted to run away, clumsily jumping on all its four fins.

Aomine took some pictures of the scene and even recorded for a minute or two. Once satisfied he put his phone back in his pocket and turned to Kagami.

“Ready to go to the next one?”

“Yeah.”

When Kagami looked at him he noticed that Aomine was wearing the necklace he'd given him. In fact, he'd seen it on him a lot for the past week. He'd even earned himself a detention from Midorima-sensei for refusing to take the necklace off during school time. He seemed to really like it which made Kagami happy but most of all relieved.

They watched some monkeys next. Aomine was disappointed because he thought they'd be even more hilarious than the seals but all they did was sit, eat fruit and picking at each other's fur looking for fleas. It wasn't at all like the documentaries he'd seen on TV. When he said this Kagami replied with, “they're probably having a good day.”

Later when they watched some hippos Kagami took note of a sign sporting a sentence in several languages. Glancing at Aomine he smirked.

“Oi, Aomine.”

The bluenette took his eyes off the hippo and turned to him in question.

“Hm?”

“Read that,” Kagami said and tapped at the sentence in English. Aomine frowned slightly, not liking the fact that he had to practice English on his day off. He was already studying it with Kagami during weekdays! But he did as told nonetheless just to get it over with. He sighed, eyes taking in the words one by one.

“Please,” the first word was easy, “don't fed? No, double _**e**_ is longer. F _ee_ d. Please don't feed the... _animals_!”

“Good. And what does it mean?” Kagami asked and tried his best to suppress a laugh. It wasn't Aomine's struggling that amused him, but the way he mumbled to himself between the words.

“It means not to give food to the animals, right?”

“Yeah. Good job.”

“Hmph. Of course. It's _me_ we're talking about. Anyway, can we continue to watch the- oh holy crap look at that mouth!” Aomine's attention was completely stolen by the hippo who opened its mouth in a big yawn. 

“Whoa...those teeth.”

Kagami hummed in agreement. He was impressed too even if he didn't quite show it as much as Aomine did. Seeing something like that on TV and in reality was completely different.

Something else that was also different was Aomine's behavior. Today he was almost childlike but it wasn't really a bad thing. It reminded him of that time in the supermarket. Sure the bluenette had always been a bit childish in Kagami's opinion but it wasn't of the same kind. It was a new side of him and he found himself liking it more than he wanted to.

While he had these thoughts, Aomine too had things on his mind. The animals had distracted him and he was having a good time but every now and then when he knew Kagami wasn't watching he would sneak a glance at him and indulge himself with the fantasy that they were out on a date. He knew they weren't, just two friends visiting the zoo, but if he would ever go on another date with the redhead, this would definitely be a good way to do it. Way better than the restaurant on their first.

_It isn't a date._

But that didn't mean he couldn't pretend.

An hour later and finally came the jaguars. Their pen was big and surrounded by sturdy, high chain link fences that also stretched over above as a ceiling. Within the fencing was a replica of a jungle with different kinds of exotic trees, waterholes and cliffs.

There were three of them; two spotted and one black. While Aomine was busy watching and recording them, Kagami read the information sign. Apparently the jaguar was the third largest of the cat-species and shared many similarities with tigers when it came to its habits. For example, it liked to swim and preferred to stalk its prey during hunts. Black jaguars, also known as black panthers, issued about six percent of the frequency population. 

“Aomine, did you know that they have one of the most powerful bites out of all wildcats?”

“Yep, I knew that. They kill their prey by biting into their skull. Since the bite is so powerful the teeth pierce the brain and they die instantly.”

Kagami blinked.

“Oh. You know a lot about them.”

Aomine felt smug, liking the impressed look on Kagami's face, and smiled cockily.

“Yeah, I do.”

They watched the jaguars for nearly half an hour before Aomine was satisfied.

The tigers were just as interesting, at least to Kagami. Even better than the jaguars since it _was_ his favorite animal after all. A mother, her three cubs and younger sister. Two of the cubs were swimming while the third was being lazy resting. The mother was grooming herself.

Kagami had seen real-life tigers before as he and his aunt visited the zoo a few times during his childhood. So it wasn't anything new to him, but Aomine seemed to enjoy watching them a whole lot. Though after taking another photo said bluenette commented, “they're not as cool as jaguars though.” And of course Kagami wasn't one to back down from a challenge. This argument was bound to happen anyway.

“Pfft. Tigers are way cooler. They've got stripes and orange fur!”

“But jaguars have a better bite.”

“Tigers are the biggest out of all cats.”

“Jaguars mate all year around.”

“So? How is that cool?”

They kept bickering as they moved on. Neither of them gave in and in the end agrees on a temporary truce, deciding that their empty stomachs were more important at the moment. It was already past twelve.

There were several restaurants within the zoo facility of which one was a burger joint. It wasn't Maji but it would do. Since the weather was nice they decided to sit outside.

“Tch...they don't even have Teriyaki burgers,” Aomine muttered when they sat down. Kagami laughed and couldn't help but tease him.

“But they have cheeseburgers. You know why? Because they're superior to teriyaki ones.”

When a fry was thrown at him his laughter escalated.

“Bakagami.”

Internally he was very pleased with himself that he was the reason behind Kagami's smile.

“Kagami, thanks for coming here with me today. I've had a good time so far,” he then said. He was a bit embarrassed but he'd wanted to say it for a while. It was only fair that he thank the other.

Kagami's laughter died down almost instantly. He blinked as the words were being processed and once they had, he cleared his throat and attempted to smile.

“Yeah me too.”

 

* * *

 

 

A few months passed. Aomine and Kagami continued to spend time together like usual and both had gotten used to think of each other as friends. It became a normal thing but as things progressed Daiki felt himself wanting more. His crush hadn't died down with time as he'd hoped; the opposite happened, in fact. He didn't know if it was love yet though. He'd never been in love so how _could_ he know?But whatever it was, it was strong. 

The current state of his and Kagami's relationship could only be described as a stalemate. Not that he really expected Kagami to make any moves on him but...he was still hoping that maybe he had managed to make the other like him a bit more than a friend. It hit him then that he didn't even know Kagami's preference. What if he wasn't into guys? He hadn't even considered that the first few times he hit on him because the thought of getting rejected was so absurd back then and his confidence had been sky high. These feelings he was harboring for the other made him insecure and self-conscious. 

With November came the Winter Cup. Since Touou won the Inter High they automatically made it to the tournament without having to play through the preliminaries, which was nice in itself but it also meant less games, less opponents and thus less basketball. Kagami couldn't help but be at least a little disappointed. His team had laughed at him when he made those thoughts known and called him a basketball idiot. Aomine included.

So when it was finally time for their first game no one was surprised at Kagami's excitement. He hadn't been able to sleep the night before because of it.

“Relax will you? It's just the first game, we'll win easily.”

“How can I relax? After watching all those preliminary games I'm fired up! We finally get to play!”

“You actually went to watch the preliminaries?” Wakamatsu asked in astonishment. Behind him he heard Imayoshi snigger.

“I did. Well, not all of them, but some.”

Aomine scoffed as he stretched his arms.

“They were nothing special. At least the ones I saw.”

Against his better judgement he'd gone with Kagami to a few games. He wasn't impressed by what he'd seen and he could already tell how this year's competition was gonna go. There were only two teams that were good enough to at least make him sweat. Yosen and Rakuzan. But the rest was just a waste of time. The only thing he did look forward to was that he'd get to watch Kagami play on the big court. And the chance to show off in front of him as well.

The team they were playing against today was Meisei. It had been decided that Kagami played in the first half and Aomine the second.

“How rare to see you here. Though I guess it's time to get used to it,” Takao said jokingly when Aomine sat down on the bench. He grunted noncommittally, not liking the familiar manner the other addressed him with. He'd never really cared for him, or any of the other team members for that matter.

“Whatever.”

All he cared about was to see Kagami play.

And he wasn't disappointed. The guy was amazing out there. It was a whole other experience to actually see him in action from the bench than playing against him. Though if he had to choose between one he'd rather have the latter. Just watching him from there made him itch, the desire to play him getting stronger by the second.

It hit him then what a pity it was that they were on the same team. Aomine knew he would never face an opponent that good in the tournaments. The teams they were to play against wouldn't do anything for him other than bring disappointment. And the more he thought about it, he became more irritated at Kagami. Why was he wasting so much energy against those scrubs? He was nearly going all out when he obviously didn't need to. It was only the first half but they were leading by a big margin. They were going to win by a big margin so what was the point? And it was only the first half!

His scowl deepened and suddenly it wasn't exciting anymore. Those players didn't deserve to play Kagami at his fullest. They didn't deserve that kind of respect. It was almost laughable how pathetic they were.

And it went on for their next game and the next. But it wasn't just Aomine who was annoyed about how the other chose to play. Kagami was feeling the same frustration but for the exact opposite reason. While he gave it his all, Aomine was not taking their opponents seriously at all. In fact, the way he moved and dribbled past them seemed almost taunting, as if he was merely toying with them. It was frustrating; Kagami wanted to see what Aomine's best looked like from an audience point of view. It was something he had looked forward to. But the experience was just the same as the Inter High. He felt stupid for having hoped for something different. But...he'd hoped because Aomine's attitude was so much better now than back in spring.

After winning their third game he couldn't hold it in anymore and on the way home, he and Aomine walking side by side, he brought it up.

“Hey Aomine, why are you holding back during games? We've had three already but I haven't seen you play the way you usually do.”

The bluenette looked him, the sudden question surprising him as he hadn't expected it, before drawing his brows down into a frown.

“Why should I? They can't beat me anyway.”

“ But you play seriously against me...don't you? So why not now? It's more at stake here than our one-on-ones.”

“That's different. You don’t suck.”

He figured it was something like that. The first time he ever played Aomine and lost, the other hadn't played him seriously either because he didn't deem him worthy. But despite having expected an answer of that kind he was disappointed. He didn't like that mindset Aomine had and he decided to make that known.  
  
“They play basketball and like it enough to compete on this scale. That should be enough to earn some respect. I don’t want to play against an opponent who isn’t even trying. I wanna beat them at their best.”

“ But not everyone is like you, Kagami!” Aomine snapped, done trying to reason with the stubborn redhead and tired of that infuriatingly honorable – and naive- way of thinking, “those people give up when they see me play, they don’t  _ want  _ to play against me. Whether I go all out or not I’m still better than them and it’s fucking boring. Why should I make an effort against people like that, who give up without even trying? They don’t  _ deserve  _ my respect. Taking them seriously is impossible.  _ You're  _ the wrong one who insists on going all out against them. ”

“ Why you should make an effort? For the team’s sake! If you won’t do it out of respect for your opponents then at least do it for us.”

A humorless laugh slipped through the bluenette’s lips. 

“We’ll win anyway. It’s not like I’m gonna lose. But like I said, those losers don’t deserve my respect. And I’ve told you this before; all the team has to do in order to win is pass the ball to me.”

Kagami forced himself to stay calm; shouting wouldn't do any good in this situation. It would only fuel the fire and knowing Aomine, they'd have an endless argument that none of them would want to lose. It was not an easy task though. He was shaking from anger, fists clenched so hard they'd nearly turned white. He exhaled a long breath before boring his stern gaze with equally emotion-filled blue. 

“This is your problem, Aomine. You think too highly of yourself and treat everyone you consider below you like shit. The world doesn’t revolve around you!

“ _My_ world does!”

_ 'It revolves around me, you and basketball. Fuck, just fall for me already.' _

“ I can’t believe you.  _ This  _ is why I avoided you in the first place. You know, for the past months I've actually thought that you're a pretty cool person but seems like that was just wishful thinking. Thanks for clearing that up.”

_ Oh shit  _

Kagami stormed off without another word and Aomine made no move to stop him. He knew he should, that he had to apologize but he was too angry. He wasn't the only one at fault! But Kagami's last words stung. All his hard work on proving himself, to be nice and make the other like him...completely wasted. Kagami didn't think he'd changed, that he was the same arrogant asshole that had hit on him on his first day. 

“Fuck!” He yelled and kicked at the ground. 

Everything had been going so well. And now he'd spoiled it. 

 

 

 


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> READ! If you haven't read chapter 20 yet do that first. I posted it yesterday and this chapter today.

 

They hadn't spoken for a few days; neither face-to-face or via text. The weekend passed and on Monday Kagami didn't show up at school. Aomine wasn't angry anymore, only a bit annoyed, but when Kagami was still away on Wednesday he was slowly letting go of that annoyance. He was instead filled with worry, guilt and a tinge of fear. He was afraid that he'd damaged their relationship for good and also, Kagami had to be really mad at him if he stayed home from school three days in a row. Not able to keep it in him any longer Aomine had asked Kuroko about it after the final lesson.

“Kagami-kun is ill. He has high fever and a cold. I am going to his apartment now to bring him some homework.”

_'So it wasn't intentional'._

That was a relief. Although he doubted that Kagami had forgotten about their argument, let alone forgiven him. If he knew the fiery redhead right, he wouldn't settle until he received an apology. Shit, he _hated_ to apologize. Especially if he didn't consider what he'd done was wrong. His opponents _didn't_ deserve his respect no matter what Kagami said. But he knew he had to talk to him about it. And while he wouldn't tell anyone, he missed Kagami. A lot.

With a sigh he held his hand out towards Kuroko and said, “I'll take it to him.”

Kuroko watched him in silence and didn't move. Of course, he already knew that Aomine and Kagami weren't on the best of terms at the moment and debated with himself whether he should keep the bluenette away from his friend or let them see each other. He'd seen the difference in Kagami's attitude towards Aomine lately and couldn't help but worry a little bit. Friendship was one thing, but he still didn't trust Aomine fully as he couldn't quite make out his agenda.

But in the end he decided to give in. This time.

“Fine. But please don't provoke him.”

“I won't. Or I'll try my best not to, at least.”

Deeming his answer good enough Kuroko nodded and handed over the small pile of homework. He bid Aomine good bye and with that left.

Aomine's driver was waiting by the gates as usual and when he was told to go to Kagami's place he wasn't surprised. He had driven there quite a lot during the past few months. Once they were they arrive he asked if he should pick him up later and if so, when.

Aomine shrugged.

“I'll call.”

He took a deep breath, eyes lifting from the ground to settle on the stairs that lead up to Kagami's apartment door. To walk the steps had never made him feel so nervous as he was now. What if Kagami hated him now?

_This is why I avoided you in the first place._

_For the past few months I've actually thought that you're a pretty cool person but seems like that was just wishful thinking._

Fuck those words _still_ stung.

He knocked at the door and waited but there was no answer. When he'd knocked a fourth time he grew impatient.

“Oi, Kagami! Open the fuck up! If you're ignoring me then-”

“ _Don't provoke him.”_

Right. He'd promised.

He waited for a while longer before trying the door. It was open.

“The hell? Anyone could walk in. Idiot...”

It wouldn't be that weird if he let himself in. He'd done so several times before and sure, it had always earned him an angry scolding from Kagami but he wasn't exactly a good listener.

It was messier than usual but then again, cleaning isn't always the top priority for people when they're ill. But I was odd since Kagami was a clean person and his home was always tidy. Even the fridge was empty, he discovered as he by habit opened it to see if there was any food to mooch of. Imagine his disappointment.

“Tch..”

Why did that idiot have to go and get sick....

Wait. As far as he knew Kagami had been sick since the weekend. Or at least Sunday. When had the food run out? Had Kagami not eaten anything? The thought was ridiculous considering how much of a glutton he was. He heard a snore; or something similar to a snore but worse. Probably Kagami's stuffed nose making difficult to breathe through it.

“So he's asleep...”

He put down Kagami's homework on the dining table before carefully making his way to the bedroom. The door was halfway open so he didn't make any noise and he stuck his head inside to have a look.

Kagami was asleep on his bed. He sounded really bad as he breathed and a wet towel laid splayed out over his forehead. Probably hadn't been changed in a while. Aomine walked up to the bed and as carefully as he could took the towel into his hands. He changed the water in the bowl standing on the night table; it had gone lukewarm.

A minute later he returned with fresh cold water in the bowl, dipped the towel in it and wrung it out before softly placing it down on Kagami's forehead. Thankfully he didn't wake up. Aomine thought “thankfully” because while he wanted to work things out between them, Kagami was adorable when he slept, runny nose and all. And yes, he thought it was _adorable._ At this point he was done denying such embarrassing thoughts because it was true. As Aomine watched him he came to a decision; he'd stay the night and take care of him.

With a small smile he left the room, softly closing the door behind himself.

The time was 16:03. In a few hours it was time for dinner and considering the emptiness of the fridge, Aomine knew he would have to go grocery shopping. He didn't mind; he'd very much enjoyed his last visit there with Kagami. Although this time he was in charge of what they were having for dinner and had to shop accordingly.

No problem.

He called his driver informing him that he was staying the night and was not to be picked up. Before he ended the call he did consider to ask for a ride to the store but then decided against it. It was only a ten minute walk anyway.

 

* * *

 

Shopping groceries was admittedly pretty fun. Of course, Aomine had no idea what he was doing, just picking up stuff he thought looked good. And he picked up a _lot_ of stuff. The prices were amazing! Though whether he actually knew what to do with the stuff he bought was another question entirely. He didn't have the faintest idea how to cook any of it. If Kagami got better he could cook it but there was no way that was happening today.

 _'Though if I stayed for a few days and took care of him...'_ Then he would probably get well enough to cook.

Today's dinner though...well, it would work. This was his chance to impress Kagami after all.

Hopefully he would be willing to talk to him. Shit what if he kicked him out? Not physically, mind you, since his fever and cold had weakened him for sure.

Getting back to Kagami's place with three full bags was a trying task. If he hadn't been an athlete with great stamina it would have taken hours and he would've had to take several breaks on the way. But he managed and reached his destination in about twenty minutes.

Kagami was still asleep. After changing the wet towel again Aomine proceeded to stack everything he'd bought into the fridge and freezer. It was about time to start on dinner, he realized as he checked the time and sighed.

“I should wake him up first...let him know I'm here.”

He didn't exactly look forward to it. But he had to.

“Kagami, wake up,” he said as he pushed at the sleeping teen. Kagami stirred and turned but the movement caused him to cough. Aomine jumped back, hoping he hadn't been hit by any virus infected fluids. His face twisted into a grimace of disgust. Sure, Kagami was cute when asleep and hot as fuck in general, but Aomine really could do without being coughed or sneezed on.

“Mm...Aomine? What the fuck are you doing here?” Kagami asked groggily once the coughing died down.

“Wow. Hello to you too.”

“Paper...”

“Huh?”

“Give me some paper. My nose...” It was kinda funny how Kagami couldn't pronounce the letters M and N properly due to his stuffed nose. Aomine granted his request and grabbed some paper tissues from the nightstand before handing it to him. Though he was careful not to let his fingers tough Kagami's. Just to be safe.

“You look like shit,” he commented as the redhead sat up in his bed, the sheet pooling to his lap, and blew his nose. He bit back a laugh when those puffy red eyes attempted to glare at him but they lacked their usual fire.

“Fuck off. Why are you here?”

Alright here goes.

“I was just going to deliver some homework for you, it's on the dining table, but then I decided to stay the night and take care of you.”

“W-what? As if I need your help! Just-” A cough interrupted his speech and when he looked at Aomine, the bluenette gave him a blank look.

“Don't kid yourself. You're a mess. Just let me help you. We can talk about that other stuff later. Come on, lie back down...I'll change your towel.”

Kagami hesitated but it was short lived and he laid down, pulling the blanket over him again. He did feel a bit better. He wasn't shivering from being cold anymore and the heat had dimmed down. Aomine was right, they could be angry at each other later. He didn't have much energy for anything right now. He wouldn't admit it right now but the help was appreciated.

_'Though I'm not sure how I feel about being taken care of by him. Does he even know what he's doing?'_

“I'm gonna start on dinner. I'll bring the food here when it's done.”

“But you can't cook!” Kagami called after him as much as his hoarse voice allowed him to and Aomine turned to him with an annoyed look on his face as he reached the door.

“Don't worry. I'll make it work. Just rest, will you?”

“Don't blow anything up, _please_.”

“Hmph.”

He'd show him.

A while later he returned to Kagami's room with a tray. There was a plate of food on it and a glass of water. He sat down at the edge of the bed and waited for the other to sit up. When Kagami did just that he leaned his back against the headboard and took the tray that Aomine handed to him.

“There you go.”

“You made this?”

“Even I know how to make simple stuff. I put a lot of effort into it.”

Kagami quirked a brow, suspicious. He glanced down at the food in his lap -pasta with some white sauce and beans- and then back at Aomine.

“You're such a liar. This is one of those instant meals you heat up in the microwave. You heated it up and just put it on a plate to make it look you made it, didn't you?”

Damn it! He'd hoped that Kagami wouldn't notice.

A blush took form on his cheeks, quickly spreading to his ears as Kagami suddenly started sniggering. He crossed his arms and looked away with what he later would deny was a pout.

“W-whatever! It's food. Just eat it.”

“Sorry. Thanks, Aho.”

The genuine tone surprised him and he hadn't thought it possible that his cheeks could grow any hotter. He'd done something for Kagami and was thanked for it. _Recognized_ for his efforts. Just like when he'd given the other those new pair of basketball shoes. It felt so nice. He didn't dare look Kagami's way and with his eyes on the floor shrugged as nonchalantly as he could.

“Yeah no problem.”

“So,” Kagami began, took a bite of the pasta and then continued after swallowing, “what are _you_ gonna eat?”

“...”

“Aomine?”

“The same as you...”

“Oh. It's in the microwave right now, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Kagami laughed again but was this time interrupted by his own cough, stopping his amusement.

“Oi don't choke.” A teasing smirk spread on Aomine's lips and he added, “if it's too difficult I can feed you.”

“No thanks,” the other replied with a slight frown. The sound of the microwave then reached their ears, signaling that the food was ready. Kagami almost broke out into laughter _again_ but willed it away and ate his food before it got cold. Aomine decided to ignore it this time and stood up instead.

“I'm gonna eat in the kitchen but I'll come back and check on you later.”

“Sure.”

After Aomine left Kagami smiled. He didn't mind the sorry excuse of a meal he'd been given; it was nice enough that he actually had someone who was willing to take care of him. He didn't have that since he lived alone. Sure, Kuroko, Kise or Himuro would probably be willing if he asked them, but Aomine had come to him on his own accord and despite being shitty at it, did his best to help him. Who knew he could be so dependable?

There was a warm, fuzzy feeling in his gut and it had nothing to do with the fever.

Although...he didn't know what to think of it.

 

* * *

 

 

A few hours later Kagami decided to get out of bed and when he walked into the living room/kitchen wrapped up in his blanket, Aomine instantly protested.

“Whoa, what are you doing out of bed?”

“I'm feeling a bit better.”

His fever was almost completely gone which gave him significantly more energy. He hadn't left the bed for two days so it was definitely about time. The worst was over; now it was just his nose and cough that bothered him. When he said this Aomine gave in and moved to sit in the armchair so that Kagami could lie down on the couch. They watched some TV together; Aomine was nice enough to let the sickling decide on the channel and wasn't all that surprised that the choice ended up being a cooking show. He didn't really mind since the food in the show looked delicious and it was kinda fascinating to watch. Almost as fascinating as watching _Kagami_ cook.

“Aomine...”

“Hm?”

“The tea you made was disgusting.” Kagami tried to hide the smile that threatened to part his lips when he spoke. He could't help himself from teasing the other a bit.

“Oh shut up. I didn't force you to drink it!”

“I'm going to teach you how to make good tea once I get better. And perhaps I should give you a beginner's course in cooking as well. Momoi is doing pretty good by the way. I've taught her how to make omelet and curry.”

“Why would I want to learn how to cook? There is no need for that.”

“Well, it would be nice not to die or get food poisoning if I'm sick more times in the future.”

It was then Aomine's turn to smirk. With a suggestive lift of his eyebrow he leaned over the armrest and closer to Kagami.

“Oh? Are you saying you _want_ me to take care of you whenever you're sick?”

“N-no! I just...well, _if_ it's you. I mean, you don't exactly ask before barging into my home and that's not gonna change.”

“Damn right it won't,” Aomine replied cockily and looked almost proud, as if Kagami had just praised him. The redhead sighed but felt his previous smile return. He turned back to the TV.

“As soon as I get better I'll teach you some basic recipes.”

“Alright.”

As the cooking show went on Aomine glanced at the other from time to time. The want to talk about their argument was nagging at him. Even if things were normal now he knew they would have to talk about it. Or maybe they didn't _have_ to; Kagami didn't seem that upset with him anymore, but they probably should. Five minutes passed before he decided to bring it up, not caring if it was a bad time or not.

“Kagami...about last week. You know...our disagreement.”

“That's a fancy word for it.”

“I'm serious here.”

With a sigh Kagami grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. He then turned to look at him.

“Alright. What about it?”

Here goes.

“Ok so...I know you don't like the way I think about my opponents and our games. I get it. And I'm sorry that it turned out like that and that I insulted you. But that's about all I will apologize for. I'm not sorry about the rest I said because it was my personal opinion and I don't expect you to apologize either because what you said was _your_ opinion. But I just wanted to let you know that I'm not angry or anything.”

It was quiet for a moment and Aomine held his breath, watching Kagami's thoughtful expression for any signs of anger or similar emotions. He nearly jumped in his seat when the redhead exhaled a long breath.

“To be honest I didn't expect an apology in the first place. You didn't really insult me so don't worry about it. If you think I'm making a mistake playing seriously against our opponents then, as you said, that's your opinion and I won't apologize for my opinion either.”

He hesitated only for a few seconds before continuing.

“I want to apologize for the last things I said though. You know, about you not being a good person. I know you have your reasons for the way you play in games and all that and I do consider you my friend so...I'm sorry. And I'm not angry anymore either. So...wanna just forget about it? It's a stupid thing to fight about.”

Remember that breath Aomine was holding before? When Kagami was done speaking he finally let it out. To hear that was such a relief to him. He'd thought he'd ruined everything.

“Yeah. Let's forget about it. And thanks.”

“No problem. So...you're still not gonna go all out during games?”

“Nope.”

“I see.”

Not that he had expected anything else. But then he was hit by an idea.

“I can't wait to get better so I can play. I'm gonna play so good that I'll score double, no, _triple_ as many baskets as you.”

And of course Aomine wasn't one to turn down a challenge.

“Oh yeah? Wanna bet?”

“Hell yes I wanna bet!”

“You're on.”

Hopefully Aomine wasn't smart enough to figure out his hidden agenda. Kagami usually played during the first half and would that set the stakes for their scoring bet. If he scored a lot of baskets it would put more pressure on Aomine and he'd have to play more seriously in order to beat it.

“By the way, if you're staying the night you have to make your own futon. I'm too tired to do it for you. Besides, it will be good for you. You need to learn these things.”

“Hmph. What if I already know how to make one?”

“Then I'm surprised. But if that's the case you won't have any trouble and I can sleep easy tonight knowing that.”

He didn't know how to make a bed. Once Kagami had gone back to bed Aomine struggled for a whole hour trying to figure out how to do and the end result wasn't exactly ideal. But it would do. He was just happy that Kagami couldn't see it.

He slept well that night. Better than he had for the past few days. Probably because he and Kagami had made up. It was a good thing he'd come here and he was very pleased with himself.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hah! Thought they'd stay angry at each other for longer didn't you! Well, they didn't. Anyway, now i just have 9 chapters left to wrap everything up so things are gonna speed up now probably. Which means that Kagami have to recognize these feelings he's started to develop for what they are.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally managed to right a chap for this story again. A bit short and perhaps uneventful but i had to in order to get inspiration back. I've started on the chapter and it will be more about Kagami and his feelings. 
> 
> As always, thank you for the support! <3

 

 

Aomine stayed at Kagami's place and took care of him for the rest of the week. He even skipped school twice and while Kagami was strongly against it, his cold made him too weak to do anything about it.  

On Saturday Kagami was completely back to normal again and after eating microwave food for several days both he and Aomine were ecstatic to have some real food for dinner. Aomine had bought fresh ingredients for him to use and they shared a great meal in the evening.

Despite the bluenette's flaws shown this week Kagami was grateful to him for the help while being sick. He just hoped his cold hadn't rubbed off on the other. If that happened he would have to return the favor and he wasn’t too keen on taking care of a sick Aomine for a week. Something told him that his rival would probably be an even bigger, demanding baby during illness.

But he’d heard somewhere that idiots don’t get sick so Aomine would probably be fine.

On Monday it was time for the quarter finals of the Winter Cup. The team they faced was significantly tougher than previous ones but unsurprisingly not enough for Aomine to deem them worthy. However, because of the bet he made with Kagami he would have to put more effort into it than usual.

And he did. At least as much effort that was needed to beat Kagami.

Their team, and even the coach, were surprised as he dribbled past the opponents over the court with much concentration. He scored with a formless shoot and once back down on his feet made himself ready for the other team's comeback. Just so he could snatch the ball and score again.

Kagami had scored fifteen baskets in the first half. Baskets, not points, Aomine had counted very carefully.

“He's doing really good today,”  said Himuro who sat next to him on the bench, having been switched out for Takao, and Kagami nodded.

“Yeah.”

Though while it still wasn't 100 percent, Aomine was playing better than usual and it was a great thing to watch. It made Kagami want to play him right then and there.

 _'He's amazing.'_ He couldn’t help but to think to himself in awe and as he did, his heart fluttered in a way that had nothing to do with the excitement of the game. It seemed to have something to do with the blue eyes that looked back at him after a particularly skillful throw.

There was no surprise that they won. During the second half Aomine scored 18 baskets which meant that he won the bet. He glanced at the bench and gave his red-haired friend a smug smirk and it earned him a roll of the other's eyes.

Wakamatsu made it up to the bench, desperate for some water which Kagami handed him. With a quick thanks he took it and gulped down half of it in one go.

“Aomine was really into it today...I wonder why,” he then said as he sat down for some rest. Kagami sniggered and told him about his plan, how he'd made up the bet strategy.

“That's genius!”

“Thanks. Well, I think he's going to play more seriously in the semifinals, bet or not.”

“Yeah that's true. But still, we're keeping that strategy of yours. We'll need it in the future.”

“Sure thing.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Before leaving the stadium, Aomine was held back by Sakurai who had approached him saying that he wanted to talk. It had surprised him a bit because the other boy rarely took the initiative like that. He had no idea what it could possibly be about but didn’t really care. There was a part of him that was annoyed by the request and he’d been close to reject it; when Sakurai asked him to spare a few minutes he’d automatically glanced at Kagami who was talking to Himuro about something. But in the end he decided to listen what his childhood friend had to say.

And it was something he definitely hadn’t counted on.

“Aomine-san, please stop playing around with Kagami-san.” While Aomine could see that Sakurai was shaking, no doubt nervous about talking to him like that, his eyes were determined and even _stern_. He was actually frowning.

Quickly collecting himself, the bluenette snorted and returned the hard look.

“What the hell are you saying, Ryou?”

Then it occurred to him and he smirked.

“Are you jealous? I haven’t screwed you in a while, after all. Or is it that you like _Kagami_ and want him for yourself?”

“I am not talking a-about that. Kagami-san is a good person and I won’t l-let you break his heart like with the others! You might not care about his feelings but I do! S-so if that’s your goal then you should s-stay away...from him.”

He looked terrified. His hands had balled into tight fists during his speech and he was shaking even more. But even so, he kept his eyes locked with the other’s. He was really serious about this and it angered Aomine. He was angry because Sakurai seemed to be so close to Kagami and cared a lot for him, but what really ticked him off now was the questioning of his motives. He liked Kagami; he’d come to accept that now and he liked him a lot. It wasn’t like with the others and while it might have been at first, he’d really developed genuine feelings for his rival. Was it so hard to believe? Anyone on their team should be able to see that they had a good, genuine friendship going on.

“Tsk and who said I’m just playing with him? I’m serious about it!” He snapped and took a threatening step forward.   
Sakurai flinched but didn’t back away. His widened eyes took in Aomine’s expression and oddly enough found it rather convincing.

“I- I can’t really believe that… a-are you-”

“Well that’s how it is. Not that this is any of your fucking business. Kagami can decide for himself.”’

“It is my business. I m-mean, I consider Kagami-san my friend a-and I don’t want him to get hurt by y-you. And there are others in the team that feel the same.”

“Oh for fucks sake! I’m not planning on hurting him! I…” Aomine trailed of and felt how his cheeks turned hot. Spotting the blush Sakurai found himself dumbstruck. To see the other blush _and_ look away with that troubled look in his eyes was uncommon to say the least.

“Aomine-san?”

Shit. He was embarrassed at himself. He’d almost spilled the beans. On the other hand, no matter how laughable it was, Sakurai and apparently other team mates could become an obstacle for him. Perhaps being honest was the best way to get rid of said threat. He grit his teeth and took a deep breath. When he looked back up to meet Sakurai’s eyes he still hadn’t managed to get rid of the pink hue on his cheeks.

“I...like him.” He hated how vulnerable he felt in Sakurai’s presence. And the silence that followed made it even worse.

The other boy could do nothing but stare in awe. He had never seen Aomine like this. Which meant that he had to be serious.

He opened his mouth to reply but at that moment Kagami interrupted them.

“Aomine why are you skulking around in a corner?” He asked jokingly. He’d been talking to Himuro and then noticed the absence of his rival afterwards and couldn’t stop him anywhere. Then as he searched the locker rooms he heard talking in the corridor to the showers.

“Oh Sakurai you’re here too,” he noted and then suddenly narrowed his eyes while looking at Aomine, “are you bullying him again?”

Aomine flinched back.

“What? No!”

Ignoring his rival Kagami went up to the brunette and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Want me to beat him up?”

“Oi-”

“No it’s fine, Kagami-san,” Sakurai assured with a genuine smile. He had achieved what he’d come for and now that he knew that Aomine was serious in his pursuit of Kagami, he felt relieved and content.

“See you tomorrow!” He said with a wave and left.

“Were you really not being a jerk to him?”

“For fucks sake, no! Why do you think that?”

 _‘ Because you usually do,’_ he thought to himself but remained quiet.

He'd promised Sakurai not to tell Aomine that he'd seen them that day in the gym. He sighed and shook his head. Then there was the fact that he used to leech of his lunch and make him do other work for him. But if Aomine said he hadn't done anything to him just now then he'd believe him. He glanced at him through the corner of his eye, hesitating for a moment before clearing his throat and speaking up.

“Aomine, you looked pretty cool out there today. You should keep it up for all our games...”

Aomine stilled at that but it only lasted for a second and he masked his surprise with a sly look .

“A compliment?” to which Kagami scowled. Although he was slightly embarrassed.

“Shut up. I compliment you sometimes! Don't act so surprised.”

“Hah. I disagree. Remember last week when you insulted my cooking and the tea I made? Several times.”

“Well, it _was_ kinda horrible. Besides, I was just being honest. Would you prefer it if I lied to you? Aomine, the tea you made was amazing!”

Aomine shoved the other playfully and couldn't stop himself from smiling.

“Yeah, yeah I get it. Thanks.”

Kagami thought he looked cool. Finally, _finally_ his showing off had gained the attention he wanted!

“You...uhm, you played well yourself,” he then said, scratching the back of his head and looked to the side. He was blushing, he knew it, but hopefully it wasn't noticed.

“Thanks. Next time I'm gonna win.”

Aomine didn't doubt that at all.

Something occurred to him then.

“By the way, we never decided what the winner gets.”

“Well, what do you want? Free lunch at Maji?”

“No...”

His eyes made a quick, subtle glance at Kagami’s body.

_I want you._

But obviously he couldn’t say things like that so instead he shrugged and went for, “I'll think about it.”


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! Gosh I've struggled so much with this. I've been stuck. I'm so happy it's nearing the end soon, jeez xD Three and a half years I believe? Not too happy about it but it had to be done!

 

Kagami had a problem. A serious problem. For a few weeks now he’d felt something whenever he spent time with Aomine and also thought about him more often than he should. Sometimes when Aomine smiled – which he did quite often these days- Kagami’s heart would flip in a way that wasn’t normal but whether that was worse than the blushing he so often felt on himself he couldn’t decide. 

And Aomine was so  _ attractive _ these days. He looked better than...well,  _ ever. _ Was it because his attitude had changed for the better? Kagami did believe in inner beauty, after all. 

But that morning all of it was taken a step further as Kagami woke up with a start; sweating, panting and eyes widened with shock. It was bad enough that he thought about Aomine a lot while awake, but now he was  _ dreaming _ about him too. 

It hadn’t been an innocent dream either. They’d been in the locker room showers together, fully naked and suddenly began to touch each other before kissing. Fortunately – or unfortunately- he’d woken up before things could progress even further. And the most horrifying thing of all was the tent in his underwear he woke up with.

“Shit…” he muttered and buried his face in his hands. 

He didn’t like this. He recognized the symptoms of what he was feeling and had felt it before. It was a matter of infatuation; a crush. Had it been anyone else Kagami wouldn’t have minded as much, because having a crush on someone wasn’t that big of a deal. But…this was  _ Aomine _ . The guy he’d sworn to never feel any attraction to. His basketball rival. The arrogant, spoiled rich-boy who….wasn’t actually that bad. Apart from his obvious flaws, Aomine did have some good qualities that Kagami really found himself liking. One of them was obviously the other’s love for basketball and of course his skill in said sport. Another thing was, cheesy as it may sound, his smile. Not the smirk that he so often bestowed upon everyone, but that genuine happy one that would usually show up during their one-on-ones. It was...beautiful. Aomine was also surprisingly nice, generous, honest -although sometimes brutally so- and had a pretty good sense of humor. 

More and more Kagami would discover these things and it should be a good thing. But like he’d said, he’d sworn to not become another one of Aomine’s conquests. If he pursued these new feelings he’d be no different from the others. He would lose to Aomine and thus lose his pride. 

Also, while he and Aomine did get along and had the friendship thing going on...Kagami felt like he couldn’t quite trust it to one hundred percent. He couldn’t be sure that it was the real Aomine. His rival had made it clear from the first day that he wanted him, to have sex with him, and had pestered him for a long time. What if this nice change of attitude was only an act? A means to get close to Kagami and then achieve his goal of getting into his pants? Though the thought of Aomine deceiving him like that was painful. 

“Just a crush. It will go away…” he told himself and got off the bed, making himself ready for the day. 

That’s right. If he could ignore these feelings for a while they would go away and he’d be back to feel nothing more than friendship towards his rival. 

When he arrived at the school it didn’t take long for Aomine to find him. He was waiting for him by the entrance and when their eyes met, a smile took form on his lips. 

“Yo Kagami!” Aomine cheered and slung an arm around his shoulders. 

“Morning…” The redhead muttered and avoided his rival’s eyes. 

It was difficult to get the dream out of his head, especially when he was so close to Aomine like this. The physical contact reminded him of the way they’d touched and it made his heart pound wildly and his stomach flutter. He just hoped he was able to hide his blush; if Aomine saw it he didn’t know what he’d do.

As they walked down the halls, making their way to the classroom, Aomine was chatting about all sorts of things but Kagami didn’t hear. He couldn’t focus and eventually he came to a halt as he realized that he had to get away from the other for a while.

“Uhm...I need to go and get something. Talk to you later, yeah?” And then he left without waiting for a response. Aomine blinked and stared at his retreating back. 

“Alright…” he mumbled but then shrugged his shoulders and decided to go wait for Kagami in their classroom. 

_ ‘Fuck’, _ Kagami thought as he leaned against his locker. He had never had any trouble being close to Aomine before. He just had to do and act as he always did. Why was it so difficult? 

“It  _ will  _ go away. I’ll make sure of it!”

He hadn’t meant to say it out loud and definitely not  _ that  _ loud. Some students that passed by gave him funny looks and when realizing this Kagami lowered his head with a slight blush. 

“Oh, Kagamicchi!” 

A strained smile plastered itself on his lips as he turned around to face Kise. 

“Morning, Kise.”

The blonde could clearly see that something was wrong and his cheerful manner dimmed, replaced by a worried frown. 

“Are you ok?”

Oh...was it that obvious? Kagami sighed and shook his head. 

“I’m fine. I just had a bad dream and couldn’t go back to sleep.”

Well, it wasn’t exactly a lie. 

They walked to the classroom together, Kise hooking his arm with his, and hummed. 

“What was it about?”

“Ehm…” There was  _ no  _ way he was going to tell Kise that. So instead he opted for , “dogs.”

Kise chuckled. 

“Right. You don’t like those.”

When they reached the classroom Aomine was in his seat talking to a few girls. He looked annoyed, which Kagami found a bit weird since his rival usually liked that sort of attention. Furthermore, one of the girls had a...hm,  _ generous  _ bosom. 

“Oi Kagami, did you ditch me for Kise?” He said when his eyes landed on him. The girls turned to the door where he stood and pouted. Their Aomine was spending too much time with that guy and was way too familiar with him, in their opinion. 

Forcing the dream out of his head Kagami sighed and walked up to him. 

_ ‘It’s just Ahomine. Just act normal.’ _

“Yeah. What about it?” He replied and found himself smirk at the annoyed look it earned him. 

“Tch. Whatever.”

Kagami was messing with him, he knew that, but he still couldn’t help the slight jealousy he felt. Especially since he’d entered the classroom with his arm hooked with Kise’s.     


“By the way, Aomine, I’m having lunch with Tatsuya today. He’s gonna help me with some math meanwhile so...here is your bentou. I’m giving it to you now instead.”

“Oh...alright.”

Kagami hadn’t expected the disappointed look it earned him. Himuro wasn’t teaching him math; he hadn’t even asked him about lunch. But at the moment he didn’t think he could handle spending too much tie with Aomine. Not today, when the dream was still fresh and insisted on being stuck in his mind. 

“Eh? But Kagamicchi, I wanna have lunch with you! And it’s not fair that Aominecchi gets your homemade lunch! I want some too!”

  
“Hah,” Aomine said with a smirk. He suddenly felt smug about the fact that he was the only one who was given the privilege of eating Kagami’s homemade food everyday. 

“Obviously cause he likes me more than you. I’m his  _ best  _ friend. You and Tetsu are in second place.”

“Whaaat? Kagamicchi is that true? Ne, who do you like more; me or Aominecchi?”

“Uhm…” he began as he was met by their expectant faces, “it’s not like I have a top list or anything. So you’re not in second place, Kise. You’re both my best friends.”

“Hmm but you spend more time with Aominecchi than me and Kurokocchi…”

“Obviously. We’re in the same club, after all.”

“Or it’s cause he liked me more. Simple.”

Kise pouted. 

“Hmph. Then maybe I should join the basketball club too. I learn new things pretty quickly, you know. And Kagamicchi can teach me!”

“What?” Aomine growled, eyes narrowing. The idea of Kise joining did not sit well with him. Practice and weekend one-on-ones was  _ his  _ time with Kagami. 

“Well, wintercup is almost over, we have the finals left so if you want to join you should apply the next term.”

“Maybe I will!” Kise chirped and threw his arms around Kagami who grunted at the hard impact. Really, he could never get used those bear hugs. 

“Kagamicchi, we can play basketball together during weekends!”

Aomine couldn’t stop himself. 

“Back the fuck off, Kise!”

_ ‘Basketball with Kagami is  _ **_my_ ** _ thing.’ _

He wouldn’t let anyone get between that. 

Surprised at the sudden outburst, Kagami and Kise stared at him wide eyed. When he realized his actions Aomine turned his face away with a blush. 

Kise, however, recovered fast and a sly smirk took over his face. 

“Ohh could it be that you are jealous, Aominecchi? Do you want Kagamicch to yourself? Ah! You like him or something?”

Aomine tensed but didn’t look at him. 

“W-what are you saying, idiot? I just don’t want you to slow us down. If you joined our weekend plays it would be a pain in the ass.” Then he finally came over his embarrassment and looked at Kise with a cocky grin. 

“And you would only embarrass yourself so it’s for your own good that you shouldn’t join.”

“So mean!”

Kagami sighed and shook his head. 

Although he’d panicked a little when Kise asked Aomine if he liked him. His rival had denied it and while it shouldn’t be a big deal, Kagami had felt...disappointed. 

And he didn’t like it. 

 

* * *

Aomine sighed - again- as he stared out the window. The teacher was still talking but he didn’t pay her any attention whatsoever. Not that he’d done so from the start. She was one of the bribable ones so he’d pass no matter what he did. He didn’t even have to  _ be  _ there in the first place. 

So why was he? Well, Kagami of course. 

However, Kagami was acting weird today. He seemed nervous and avoided eye contact with him. This morning he’d seemed troubled, not his usual cocky and cool self.    


But it had been adorable. 

He sighed again. 

Unbeknownst to him, Momoi was watching him and had done so for a while now. She’d noticed those sighs...because Aomine sighed a lot these days even when the two of them hung out by themselves. Of course, she had begun to figure out what all of it was about. 

It was no secret that her childhood friend had changed because of Kagami and that they now considered each other friends. It was great, she thought. At first she’d been worried because Aomine had made it clear how much he wanted to sleep with the redhead and also get revenge for that black eye plus all those rejections. Was this new friendship just a trick to get what he wanted, is what she’d asked herself but then she’d realized that that wasn’t the case. 

She could read him like a book most of the time and she knew that what was between the two aces was genuine and mutual. 

The way he acted lately clearly indicated that he liked Kagami more than a friend. Definitely a crush,  _ maybe  _ something more. It was strange to see him like this, she thought, but at the same time she was somehow relieved. Relieved to see that he was capable of such feelings and that he hadn’t completely lost himself after all these years. 

Kagami had a good influence on him and she would fully support his feelings. 

Since Kagami wasn’t joining him for lunch, Aomine decided to eat with Momoi. They sat in the cafeteria by a table in the farthest back, giving them some privacy. 

Today Kagami had made him shredded teriyaki beef, rice and pickled vegetables. All of it homemade. It was absolutely delicious. 

“Dai-chan let me have have some!”

“No!” He said and clutched his bentou possessively. 

“Meanie! I wanna try it!”

“Get your own. This is  _ mine _ .”

Momoi pouted. She looked down on the sandwich she’d bought for herself. 

“It must be nice to have someone make you lunch,” he muttered and glanced up at Aomine who was busy ravishing the teriyaki beef. He looked happy, causing a soft smile to curve her lips. 

“Dai-chan, you really like Kagamin, don’t you.”

The reaction was instant. He froze, chopsticks in his mouth and eyes wide. They narrowed to normal rather soon, however, and slowly he turned to her. 

“He’s good at basketball and he makes me food. What’s not to like about that?”

He was being stubborn, she knew that and shook her head. 

“You know what I mean. You think of him more than a friend, don’t you. There is no point in trying to hide it from me, you know.”

Yes he knew. Momoi was good at noticing things like these, especially when it concerned him. If she knew about it, then she’d probably known for quite some time. There was, like she said, no point in denying it. Besides, he trusted her. She wouldn’t tell anyone if he asked her not to.

Slowly he lowered his chopsticks to the table and sighed. 

“Yeah…”

“I think it’s great, Dai-chan! Don’t look so grumpy.”

“But…” he began and frowned, eyes on his bento as he spoke, “I don’t like it. I mean, I’ve never really...felt like this.”

Or at least not so strongly. 

“It’s weird.”

“You’ve had crushes before, right?”

“Well, yeah. Or more like, I’ve found some people more attractive than others and wanted them a bit more.”

A blank expression settled on Momoi’s face. 

“Dai-chan. Remember that boy you liked so much in middle school? What was his name? Inoue?”

“Yeah…”

“That was obviously a crush.”

“Tsk whatever! The point is, Kagami is different!”

“How?” He pressed. Her previous suspicions about this being more than a crush was beginning to become confirmed. 

“I don’t know...it just is.”

He was blushing. Again. 

“Dai-chan...I think you might be in love with him.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kagami is doubting Aomine's motvies but at the same time doesn't want to. Momoi did as well but realized that Aomine's feelings and change is real. Now Kagami just have to realize that. Aomine was told he's in love, lets see how he's gonna take that.


End file.
